


To the Beat of the Music

by Sapphic Nerd (bdubs1102)



Category: Wynonna Earp (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Dean Dolls, Dean Wynonna, F/F, Nicole & Waverly, Resource Officer Nicole, Teacher Waverly, Wayhaught - Freeform, Wynonna Earp cast as faculty/staff
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-07-30
Updated: 2018-04-22
Packaged: 2018-07-27 15:20:54
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 25
Words: 38,338
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7623871
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bdubs1102/pseuds/Sapphic%20Nerd
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>What happens when the cast of Wynonna Earp gets thrown into an Alternate Universe where Wynonna and Dolls are Deans, Waverly is a teacher, and Nicole is a School Resource Officer?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Wet t-shirt introductions

**Author's Note:**

> THANK YOU to anyone who has been waiting literally months for an update. I appreciate you more than you know. I'm reposting all of the chapters with edits. Still no beta, so mistakes are all mine. Sadly, the characters and some of the dialogue are not.

Nicole rounds the corner just in time to hear a strange water gushing sound and someone’s surprised sputtering. 

“Agh. Geez…ahh Jesus!” This was followed by an exasperated sigh and “Perfect” as the owner of the voice came into view. 

Woah. Nicole’s steps falter slightly, but she recovers quickly enough that the other woman doesn’t notice. Her eyes rake up and down the now water-logged woman in front of her and she can’t help appreciating the sight. Everyone knows Waverly Earp. With long brown hair and a gentle smile, Waverly was the sweet girl next door, high school cheerleader, and town beauty queen that was born into the wrong family and recently returned to her Alma Mater as the new World Languages teacher. Her older sister, Wynonna, was known to be a bit of a loose-cannon and a delinquent growing up, but had eventually matured and fit in well as a Dean for the school. The kids know she isn’t one to be messed with. Unfortunately, Nicole thinks Waverly may not be able to get away with the same “Don’t mess with me” attitude her sister exudes so well. She is entirely too kind. She’ll probably have to win over the kids the good old fashioned way. Or, you know, she could just fall into the trap that is the broken water fountain…

“I didn’t know Purgatory High had wet t-shirt competitions. Glad the kids aren’t around. You might have found yourself with a few new admirers.” Waverly looks up, slightly startled by the teasing voice coming from just over her left shoulder where she meets the laughing brown eyes of a very amused and very attractive School Resource Officer. 

Waverly knows she’s seen the redhead around campus in the past few days. After all, she is hard to miss. No one should look that sharp in a standard issue navy blue button-down uniform shirt and pressed brown khaki pants. But, the white Stetson cowboy hat the officer wore when she was outdoors was like a bonus cherry on top of a very enticing sundae. Not that Waverly had spent an over-abundant amount of time checking out the other woman, she convinces herself. She is just trying to learn about all of her new colleagues and had yet to officially meet this one. _Well, this is sure to make a lasting first impression,_ she thinks sarcastically.

“Are you okay?” the officer asks.

“Yea… yeah. Just a bit jumpy. This thing definitely caught me by surprise.” Waverly gestures one hand toward the offending water fountain which thankfully was no longer spewing water at her while her other hand attempts to shake off some of the excess water droplets now clinging to her skin.

“Sorry I wasn’t here to warn you in time. That thing’s been whacky for years. Best to avoid it. Plus, the school water?” She leaned forward conspiringly. “Tastes awful,” she finishes the sentence with a wink. When she smiles, Waverly notices the adorable dimples on either side of the other woman’s perfect, sparkly white grin. Dimples and sparkly white… what? Where did that come from?? But, the officer is already speaking again. “I’ve uh- I’ve been meaning to introduce myself. I’m Nicole. Nicole Haught.” The redhead reaches forward to shake Waverly’s hand. It goes unnoticed when both women hold on for just a second longer than absolutely necessary for the greeting. “And you are… Waverly Earp.” Waverly rolls her eyes. Of course Nicole knows her name. Her reputation- better yet, her _family’s_ reputation- always precedes her. “You’re quite a popular girl around here.”

Waverly smiles and brushes off the comment. “Oh, you know. It’s all in the smile and wave.” She mimics her former beauty pageant wave half-heartedly, not wanting to talk about whatever the officer has heard to make her seem “popular”.

Nicole takes the hint and quickly changes the subject. “I was on my way over to the cafeteria for a cappuccino. Why don’t you join me and I’ll grab a spare t-shirt out of my office for you?”

“Uhm. Officer? It’s Friday afternoon.” She gestures vaguely to the empty hallway around them. “The cafeteria is closed.”

Surprisingly, the redhead doesn’t seem embarrassed about her mistake. Instead, she takes it in stride and replies, “Oh, right. My bad. It’s just… when I see something I like, I don’t wanna wait.” She looks up at Waverly from under her long red eyelashes and grins, without missing a beat. “Well, come on then. Let’s get you that shirt.”

Attempting to shake the water off as they walk is of no use, so Waverly gives up and follows Nicole to her office. Soon, they step into a small room where Nicole reaches into a cabinet behind a wooden desk and pulls out a PHS tshirt that proudly exclaims **PURGATORY HIGH SCHOOL: GO PANTHERS!** in big, bold letters. 

“Right. God, I’m sopping wet,” Waverly says disgusted. “Sorry. Do you mind just uh…” She awkwardly gestures turning around or covering her eyes and thankfully Nicole takes the hint. The officer turns to face the door and pulls the blinds closed, so Waverly can strip out of the offending garment. Unfortunately, the task becomes more difficult when a button gets caught in Waverly’s long brown locks and she soon finds herself in yet another embarrassing situation. “Oh. Ohh… crap. Uhhh Officer? I’m stuck.” 

When Nicole turns around she has to bite her lip to keep from laughing at the comical situation the younger woman has now found herself in with her arms caught in the shirt above her head. “Oh! Let me help you. I got you.” 

Waverly can tell Nicole is trying hard to keep the laughter out of her voice and sends a silent thank you in her direction as they manage to pull the shirt over her head at last. “Good thing you’re not some guy, right?” Waverly jokes. “This could be…” Suddenly, light brown eyes meet with dark chocolate ones and both women feel their hearts stutter in response to the almost palpable spark of chemistry between them as Waverly’s sentence trails off. Noticing the close proximity of the other woman, she takes a small step back and recovers her words. “…really… really awkward.” Nicole blushes slightly as she looks down at her feet, not saying anything, but not making any attempt to increase the distance separating them, either. “Uhm. I- I owe you one.” Waverly offers as she pulls the borrowed PHS shirt over her head into place and smooths it down with her damp palms. 

“Alright.” Nicole makes her way back towards the door and grabs her Stetson off the hook where it’s hanging on the wall, but doesn’t put it on, yet. “Well, how ‘bout you buy me that cup of coffee? How ‘bout tonight?” 

“I can’t. No. I mean, I’d love to- _like _. I’d like to uhh. But, I have plans. I’m a planner. Like to know what I’m doing at least two or three days in advance.” She knows she is rambling but can’t stop herself. “Uhm. I’m in a relationship,” Waverly states strongly. “With a boy. Man.”__

__Nicole simply shrugs off Waverly’s relationship declaration and smoothly replies, “A boy-man? Yep. I’ve been there!” She laughs quietly, then says in a mockingly serious tone, “It’s the worst.” She allows Waverly to exit her office, places her Stetson firmly on her head and locks the door behind them. “Okay. Well. Some other time.” Handing Waverly a worn out business card displaying the officer’s name and personal cell phone number, she smirks and says, “I mean it” before walking away with a confident sway of her hips._ _

__After watching the other woman make her way across the quad, Waverly looks down at the card in her hand. “Officer…. Haught. Of course.” Waverly pockets the card and starts to make her way back to her classroom to gather her things and head out for the night, not noticing the small smile she can’t quite keep off of her face while thinking about the bizarre events of her afternoon._ _


	2. Research, Theories and Practice

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don't really have a schedule in mind for posting. It's just when inspiration strikes, I guess?

Xavier Dolls, Dean of Students, carelessly clears the conference room’s sturdy oak table by haphazardly stacking the many files spread across its surface in front of him. “These will be great resources,” he admits in his no-nonsense, deadpan tone of voice, though he honestly sounds less than impressed.

The “resources” he is referring to are all part of Waverly Earp’s graduate thesis: **Motivating Teens. How home-life, background, relationships, etcetera, effect student achievement and behavior in school.** In the past few years, Purgatory High School and several other surrounding schools has experienced an increase in bullying, fighting, and overall violence amongst students. Administration hopes something in Waverly’s studies will help them better understand where all of this is coming from and how they can prevent future misconduct. 

Waverly outwardly cringes as her heart breaks a little inside at the way Dolls is manhandling all of her hard work as if he was simply throwing out the morning paper along with their breakfast plates. “Sorry” she interjects. “Uhh… I spent years on that research, so…”

Seeing the grimace on her little sister’s face, Wynonna Earp, Secondary Dean of Students, jumps in to say, “Welcome to Team Shut Up and Do What He Says”. She smiles mockingly at Dolls. “Sometimes, we even get doughnuts.” To emphasize her point, she waves the powdered doughnut in her hand and smirks when he gives her a pointed look. Luckily, the tension is broken when someone knocks on the door. For a moment, everyone scrambles to make sure there is no confidential information within eyesight of the unwelcome visitor. Along with Waverly’s research, Dolls has spread out several files of “at-risk students” that includes photographs and more or less rap sheets for each kid in question. Most people don’t know these cumulative files exist and they’d like to keep it that way. Dolls takes one more cursory look around before standing up straight, clasping his hands behind his back military-style, and states, “Enter” in a firm tone.

A flash of red hair catches both Earp sisters’ attention as Officer Haught pops her head around the conference room door and leans in slightly. “Hey. Uh… you asked to be alerted whenever things came over the wire that seem…unusual?” Though she was speaking to Dolls, the other ears in the room perk up in barely veiled interest. Waverly sneaks a quick peek at the officer, then directs her gaze back to the table before she gets caught.

“Yeah. We’re coming. Thanks.” Waverly barely contains the eye-roll that is begging to be expressed. She thinks Dolls haS the conversational skills of a concrete wall sometimes, but pays attention anyway when he directs his next statement to her. “Waverly, you’re dismissed.” She can see Nicole flashing her a shy, flirtatious smile over Dolls’ shoulder and averts her eyes as Dolls looks back and forth between the two women, clearly feeling like he’s missing something. Brushing it off for now, Dolls strolls confidently from the room without looking back. Nicole, however, glances back one last time to meet the dark brown eyes of her new favorite Earp sister. Flashing another quick grin of pure dimples, she walks out and closes the meeting room door, leaving Wynonna and Waverly alone.

“So… that’s it?” Waverly asks with a huff, feeling a little disappointed. This was her first big meeting to show Dolls how she could help. She knows her research has good information and she really believes what she had learned could benefit the school in a big way. Before she can get too down about the situation, Wynonna explains. “He’s not really the ‘Let’s go for drinks and celebrate’ type. You did great!” Without missing a beat, Wynonna high-fives her sister with the hand still holding her powdered doughnut and heads out into the hallway following after Dolls to find out what information Officer Haught has for them. Waverly finds herself in an empty meeting room and assumes this means they’re done for the day. She doesn’t say anything out loud, but the expression on her face (eyebrows raised in disbelief) says a lot about what she’s thinking as she finishes gathering her files from the table.

*****

 _Angry kids do stupid, impulsive things_ Nicole thinks to herself as she crosses the quad, quickly passing a group of students huddled together whispering and showing each other videos they’d taken on their cellphones of the chaos that just erupted in their classroom. _And,_ she amends, rolling her eyes in exasperation _the other kids keep fueling the fire by sharing videos that seem to spread within seconds, allowing horrible situations to play out on repeat until everyone on campus feels like he or she was in the room, too._

Just moments ago, the Officer had received a frantic phone call from a frightened teacher stating that she heard a loud bang against the wall and saw a bunch of kids leaving the classroom next to hers. Wynonna happened to be making her rounds in that part of campus and was able to respond to the commotion before anyone else arrived. She radioed in that a student had thrown a chair against the wall, so the teacher sent all of the other students out of the room for their safety. At this point, only the teacher and Wynonna remained in the room trying to talk the student down. 

Finally arriving at the classroom in question, Nicole reaches to unsnap the holster containing her Taser and silently prays she doesn’t have to use it. She’s really not in the business of hurting kids, but knows she will do what is necessary to ensure everyone’s safety. “What’s the plan, Dean Dolls?”

“We surround the classroom and we wait for Wynonna to give the all clear to enter. If we see or hear anything that makes it seem like she’s in danger, we go in.”

“Okay.” Sounds easy enough. Sit back and wait. Let Wynonna do her thing and hope her wild temper doesn’t get the best of her. It seems strange to Nicole that she finds herself, the only cop on campus, being told to stay outside of a situation. But, she figures the Deans have handled this sort of thing often enough to know what they’re doing. And, sometimes, cops make kids nervous. Angry kids that also become nervous? Yeah. No, thanks. She’ll gladly wait this one out.

“Call Waverly. Tell her that her sister’s in a situation.” Dolls hands his personal cell phone over to make the call, knowing Waverly will hear the news from a student within record time, so they need to try to reach her first. But, before Nicole finishes dialing, she gets temporarily distracted.

“Hey, isn’t that Champ’s golf cart?” she asks, confused as to why it would be parked in this wing of the school when it was usually out near his classroom on the other side of campus.

“Waverly’s boyfriend?” Nicole grimaces at Dolls’ use of this title instead of _PE Coach_ or _teacher_ , but “Unfortunately” is all she replies with a deep sigh as she finishes dialing Waverly.

*****

Entering the school’s front office, Nicole can see that almost everyone has gone home for the day. There’s a lone figure standing off to the far side, staring into space with tears in her eyes. She comes to stand in front of the other woman, the high countertop the only thing separating them. “Waverly. I’m so sorry.” 

After two hours of nerve-wracking suspense, Wynonna had finally been able to escort the angry student out of the classroom and back to her office. A few hours later, Waverly was able hear the whole story of what happened. It turns out that Champ was covering the class that day as a favor to another teacher. He had no way of knowing the “angry student”, John, was not allowed to be around a certain group of kids in the class because they picked on him relentlessly. Unfortunately, the other kids took advantage of having a substitute and laid into John almost immediately. Within moments, he’d lost his cool and that’s when he threw the chair. To make matters worse, the chair almost hit Champ, so his behavior was considered attacking a teacher.

Waverly’s heart broke when she walked into Wynonna’s office and found John there sobbing quietly into his lap. She had been working with John one-on-one as part of a mentoring group. She knew about the students that were bullying him and was helping him with how to react to adversity and control his temper. Needless to say, throwing a chair was not one of the strategies they’d discussed. But, he’d made the choice to lash out and had to deal with the consequences now. Wynonna told her that John was being sent to an alternative school to finish out the rest of his senior year where he could receive counseling and be safely separated from his aggressors. There was nothing more she could do for him now.

“I can’t believe he’s gone.” Waverly’s voice cracks on the word ‘gone’ and Nicole instinctively reaches out to grasp her hand in support.

“Aww it’s ok.” Champ appears out of nowhere to grab Waverly’s head in both hands as he peppers her with loud, wet, smacking kisses along the side of her face and temple.

“Ok. Ok.” Waverly whispers as she reaches up to grab his arm, trying to gently pry him off of her. She knows he thinks this is helping, but it’s really not.

Nicole purses her lips and looks away from the unwelcomed PDA in front of her. Champ stops the kissing, but is still draped over Waverly’s shoulders, pressing down on her. _Like she needs that dead weight on top of the grief and unwarranted guilt she’s already carrying there,_ Nicole thinks.

Her thoughts are interrupted as Waverly reaches for Nicole’s hand again, but lands just short of touching her because she’s impeded by Champ’s arms. Nicole looks down at Waverly’s fingers and wishes they were still wrapped in her own.

“Hey, I got your voicemail about Wynonna,” she says with a small, sincere smile. “Thanks.” It didn’t take long for word of the incident to spread through the hallways earlier in the day. Waverly knew it was her job, but she really didn’t like hearing that her sister was in a classroom with an enraged student, no matter what the circumstances were.  
“Yeah. Thank you.” Champ interjects.

“It was really sweet,” Waverly says and hopes Nicole can read the deep sincerity in her eyes.

Nicole ignores Champ and meets Waverly’s gaze. “Yeah. Sure.” She looks as if she’d like to say more, but decides against it. She glances at Champ quickly before simply stating, “of course” and away from the couple.

Champ watches Nicole leave, glances back at Waverly, with his left arm still slung around her shoulders possessively and states, “I dunno. Somethin’ about her just rubs me the wrong way. Miss… Officer… What’s-her-name. Pfft”

Rolling her eyes, “It’s Haught,” Waverly replies firmly.

“Meh” Champ shrugs the comment off.

“She’s…she’s re…” A new round of tears chokes off the rest of what Waverly intends to say. 

“Oh baby baby baby. It’s okay… don’t cry. It’s okay. I’m okay. Alright?” Waverly sniffles and looks at him in disbelief, but he continues anyway. “I know I was almost a human sacrifice, but it’s okay now. I’m fine.”

Waverly wants to correct him. She wants to tell him she’s crying for a student that is having his whole life uprooted because other students decided he was unworthy of anything more than torment. She wants to explain that she feels like she failed him and is riddled with guilt that she couldn’t do more to protect him. But, she doesn’t say any of that. She lets Champ believe she was worried about his well-being (and really, she wonders why that wasn’t more of a concern for her).

“Uhm… yeah. Uhhh. Wynonna tells me you were really brave.”

“Yeah. I was,” Champ states arrogantly. “But, one thing’s for sure. I’m never leaving your side again. Okay?” He proceeds to cover her in more unwanted kisses. Waverly looks up toward the ceiling wishing she could get out of his awkward embrace. She thinks she’s had enough of his “affection” for today. 

Across the room, Dolls and Nicole are finishing up a conversation tying up loose ends from today’s events, when Nicole’s eyes fall on Waverly again and her whole demeanor softens. “She said she was glad I called,” Nicole thinks out loud. Though she hadn’t meant to voice those particular thoughts out loud, it was too late to take the words back now. When Dolls responds, “I’ll bet” with a surprisingly intuitive look, an awkward curtain of tension drapes itself around them. They both quickly find other things to focus their attention on as they stand awkwardly beside one other, looking anywhere but at each other, trying to figure out how to change the subject or excuse themselves somehow.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm still very new to all of this, so please feel free to leave constructive criticism. I hope you all are enjoying the story so far! :)


	3. We’re Falling Apart to Half Time

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading and leaving comments! I'm trying to take suggestions to heart, but also keep going with my original plans. I hope you like how that works out. :)

Music pounds through the speakers as bodies sway with what teenagers call “dancing”, but looks more like a mass of students having minor seizures or muscle spasms set to a beat. Streamers, balloons and colored lights attempt to disguise the aged wooden bleachers surrounding the gym floor. They don’t quite succeed, but the kids don’t seem to mind.

Waverly stands next to Champ, grinning gleefully as she watches each couple or group of students enter the dance through the metal double doors. She admires all of the beautiful dresses, dapper suits and bashful looks of excitement as students cross the threshold. Seeing the females donning glittering makeup, fancy hairdos, and freshly painted nails is almost enough to make Waverly forget about the nasty girl fight that erupted during lunch the previous day. She shakes off the memory and reminds herself that tonight is about the kids having fun. Hopefully, there won’t be any violent disruptions this evening to ruin it.

Glancing to her right, Waverly resists the urge to roll her eyes for what is probably the hundredth time when she takes in her boyfriend’s choice of attire. He decided (without her knowledge or approval) that being a chaperone at Purgatory’s Homecoming dance meant he could get away with wearing a tuxedo-printed tshirt under his suit jacket, arrogantly claiming his muscular neck didn’t like being confined within a dress shirt and tie. Her own sparkling teal gown makes him look like an imbecile by comparison.

“Looks like you could use some of this.” Waverly accepts the paper cup her sister hands her filled with red liquid she assumes must be some sort of punch, as Wynonna leans closer to whisper in Waverly’s ear. “It may or may not be spiked.” She meets Waverly’s surprised look with a shit-eating grin of her own. “And I may or may not have been the one to spike it.” Waverly can’t help the guffaw that escapes her throat after that statement. Of course her sister would be the one to slip a little something into their punch in order to liven the event up a bit. She prays silently that Wynonna only spiked _their_ punch and not the actual punch bowl. Sometimes, there was just no telling with the older, wilder Earp.

Raising her cup in a silent toast to her unpredictable sibling, Waverly tosses the liquid back and feels the welcome burn of alcohol as it slides down her throat. Luckily, she swallows her punch before glancing up at the gym entrance again, because the sight before her now causes her to choke on pure air. 

Flowing lavender fabric twists around impossibly long legs to wrap snugly around a thin, hourglass torso, sparkles over small swells of breasts, then falls off of one shoulder, exposing white porcelain skin and leaving slightly-muscular arms bare for all to see. Even after finishing her punch, Waverly’s mouth feels impossibly dry. Her gaze continues to travel across prominent collar bones, over plump, smiling lips and finally up to bright brown eyes framed with ringlets of strawberry blonde hair. Her throat constricts with a painful gulp as she notices Nicole’s hand that is wrapped firmly in the crook of an arm belonging to a tall, dark and handsome man that looks like he just walked out of a GQ magazine ad in his tailored black on black tuxedo. As the couple strolls towards the Earp sisters and Champ, Waverly feels her stomach clench and wonders why she all of a sudden wants to punch something.

Greetings make their way around the group of adults. Waverly nods and smiles, but feels like she is experiencing the whole situation from outside of her body, barely processing anything around her. It takes Wynonna placing a gentle hand on Waverly’s arm to bring her out of her stupor. “Waves? You alright?” Waverly shakes her head, trying to clear the fog that has settled there. “Yeah. Of course. Sorry. I was just uhhh.” She fishes for an acceptable answer for her odd behavior, but finds none. So, she simply says, “Yeah. I’m fine.” Though Wynonna doesn’t appear to be entirely convinced, she lets it drop for now. Waverly sighs in relief and goes back to watching the students enter the dance. When she tunes back into the conversation just long enough to hear Champ mention something about Nicole being out of uniform and asking where she hid her gun, Waverly decides she’s going to need another cup of Wynonna’s punch to get through the rest of this night… or maybe three?

Nicole watches Waverly excuse herself from the group and wander off towards the far side of the dance floor with a frown. She noticed that the other girl had seemed distracted during the previous conversation, barely contributing more than a tight smile and nodding her head to make it appear like she was listening, when her attention was clearly elsewhere. The only thing that had elicited a real response was when her asshole boyfriend asked Nicole where she was hiding her firearm tonight. Waverly’s jaw had tensed as she glared at the man, burning holes into the side of his head that he didn’t even notice. What she ever saw in that guy was anybody’s guess. Luckily, Nicole was saved from answering when Dolls walked up and asked to speak privately with Wynonna. After that, the group disperses to go fulfill their chaperone duties of keeping an eye on the students from different sides of the room, allowing Nicole to quietly observe Waverly and wonder what is going on with her tonight.

Later in the evening, a stubborn streamer finds itself wrapped around the spike of Waverly’s high-heeled shoe. She stands on one foot and tries to dislodge the frustrating crepe paper, but misjudges her balance and almost topples over in the process. Luckily, a strong arm slips around her waist just in time to pull her back into an upright position. 

“Woah there,” Nicole whispers softly into Waverly’s ear. Waverly’s body reacts immediately to the close proximity of the officer, whose front is pressed closely against her back. An involuntary shiver runs down her spine as her face flushes. Satisfied that she is alright to stand on her own, Nicole releases the smaller woman and steps away to face her, but notices Waverly refuses to make eye contact. Perplexed, Nicole searches her brain for anything she may have said or done to upset the other woman. Coming up empty, she decides to go with her normal straight-forward approach. 

“Waverly, have I done something to make you angry or….?” At this, Waverly finally lifts surprised eyes to meet the opposing confused ones across from her. She feels her heart melt a little at the sad expression of bewilderment on Nicole’s face. 

“No!” Waverly cringes at the awkward intensity of her answer and continues. “I mean…no” she says with less force. “Of course not. Why would you think that?”

“Well, it’s just that… you’ve barely spoken to me tonight. I thought we were friends, but… uhm… you keep glaring at me like I stole your favorite-” She was going to say “your favorite toy” when a lightbulb suddenly goes off in her mind. “Wait. Is this about Kyle?” Waverly’s breath catches and her eyes widen in surprise, feeling like she’s just been caught with her hand in the proverbial cookie jar. While she frantically searches for an explanation for the angry looks she thought she’d been hiding all night, Nicole jumps in again. “You have a thing for my date!?” What should have been an angry accusation came out sounding more like an amused question, followed by a look Waverly can’t quite decipher. It’s a mix between laughter, confusion and something else. Maybe… sadness? 

“Nicole, I….” Still focusing on trying to explain why she’d been glaring at Kyle, it takes a moment for Nicole’s words to catch up in her mind. “Wait. What? ‘Thing for your date’?” She couldn’t help feeling incredibly befuddled. Nicole was right about her avoidance, but the glaring ( **again, she thought she was hiding that well** ) wasn’t at the other woman. She’d been barely able to contain her simmering aggression throughout the evening toward Nicole’s _date_. Every time he touched her face to swipe the red ringlets out of her eyes or placed his hand delicately on the small of her back, Waverly had to resist the urge to storm over and tell him to keep his dirty paws to himself. Just thinking about it gets the small woman’s blood boiling again. 

_And just where the hell were these thoughts coming from anyway?_ Why did she all of a sudden feel so possessive of Nicole? Sure, they were friends. But, that’s no reason to get crazy over some guy who for all intents and purposes had been a perfect gentleman, unlike her poor excuse for a boyfriend.

“Yeah. Dark hair…Ruggedly handsome?” Nicole rolls her eyes at Waverly, then adds, “Sorry to burst your bubble, Waves. That tall drink of water isn’t so much interested in the fairer sex, if you know what I mean. And, even if he was, I have to admit I’m a little offended that you’d drop me so quickly over some guy. Not to mention, you have a ‘boy-man’ friend of your own.” Feeling herself growing frustrated, Nicole turns as if to walk away, but stops when she feels Waverly’s small hand latch onto her arm.

“So many thoughts right now,” Waverly mumbles. “Please, don’t go. Just… give me a minute to let my mouth catch up with my brain.” Her eyes look pleadingly into Nicole’s and damn it if the officer can never say no to that puppy dog expression. She crosses her arms and sighs, giving nonverbal permission for Waverly to continue.

“Okay. 1) Kyle is incredibly attractive, but I’m not attracted _to_ him. Plus, he likes men? Wow. I knew he was too pretty for his own good. 2) Let’s not talk about the boy-man right now. I just can’t with him tonight. And 3) I wasn’t shooting those looks at you… I-I didn’t mean for anyone to see that at all. I apparently need to work on keeping thoughts in my head and off of my face.” She frowns. “Bah. I’m getting side-tracked. Uhm.” She takes a deep breath, organizes her thoughts once again and dives in. “I was looking err I guess you could call it glaring,” she admits sheepishly, “… at Kyle.” The last part comes out as a mumbled whisper and she’s not sure Nicole even heard her because she’s staring at the ground shuffling her feet. 

Nicole uncrosses her arms and thinks over the words Waverly just said. A minute ago, she thought Waverly wanted to steal her date. Now, she is ready to jump to his defense. Something like, “What’d he ever do to you” dies on her lips as Waverly rushes on.

“Not that he’s done anything wrong! Well, not exactly… Uhm. I mean he came here with you and he can’t seem to keep his hands to himself, which makes me feel super possessive and- It’s just… uhh… Nicole? I’m not making much sense and I’m really not sure I’m ready to talk about this. I’m sorry. Can I please just apologize for being a jerk and will you please just accept that for now? I promise I’ll be nicer to your date.”

Nicole cocks her head to the side and studies the woman in front of her. Waverly’s eyebrows are raised in a pleading “How ‘bout it” expression. She’s biting her bottom lip in uncertainty and looks really uncomfortable as she shifts her weight back and forth between her two feet. Nicole’s heart swells at the sight. But, no matter how adorable the smaller woman looks in this moment, it’s not enough to make up for the incredible amount of confusion Nicole is feeling. She decides to let Waverly off the hook for now. This isn’t the time or the place to be having deep conversations and the other woman obviously needs to work through some things before they talk anyway. She nods in concession and loops her arm through Waverly’s, leading them back towards their waiting dates. Dates. Ugh. That made Nicole think about Kyle again. Who knew bringing her best friend to a high school dance could cause drama like they’re all teenagers again? She smiles at the thought. Then, something else strikes her. Hold on. Waverly said she felt super possessive when Kyle was touching her. Surely, Waverly didn’t mean what it sounded like she just implied… Right? Nicole glances at Waverly out of the corner of her eye and decides there’s so much more to this beautiful creature than she may have originally thought.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ugh. I keep unintentionally changing tenses. Please excuse the errors. I'm trying to adjust them as I go along.


	4. Keeper of the Bones

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oddly enough, I wrote this one before chapter 3. It's just a short one, but much needed in moving things along.

A heavy thump rocks the kitchen table as Wynonna heaves another box onto it and heads back outside to retrieve a few more. They had just arrived back at the homestead with a considerable load of “stuff” her aunt wanted the sisters to inherit. Waverly runs her fingers distractedly through her long brown hair and sighs. _I can’t believe Uncle Curtis has already been gone for six months. Guess it’s about time Gus sorted through all of this stuff, but man. Where do we even start?_

Nearby, Champ is rustling through one of the other boxes, pawing at her late uncle’s belongings as if looking for something he can pawn off to make a quick buck. Waverly shudders at the thought. As if she’d let Champ sell anything left behind by her favorite uncle. Before she can give that train of thought room to travel, Champ speaks up.

“I guess he was kinda like you. Into the uhhh.” Champ stutters a bit as he searches for words. “Into the past of where things come from and you know, stuff before today uhhh?”

Waverly stares at him incredulously. “You mean like History?”

“Yeah.” He shrugs. “How can somebody so pretty be so smart, huh?” Champ reaches a hand over and chucks her under chin as if she’s a small child that just said something intelligent in an adult conversation. 

Champ is oblivious to Waverly’s resulting glare at the blatant insult. “Ahhh… cause they’re not mutually exclusive,” she replies with a tight smile, trying to control her irritation.

Long, hairy arms snake around Waverly’s shoulders as Champ flirts arrogantly. “How ‘bout the last time _we_ got mutually exclusive, huh?” He smiles at his own attempt at humor. “That was historic, eh? Huh? Right?!”

But, Waverly is having none of it. “Babe. Okay. Enough!” She roughly pushes Champ’s arms off of her and steps away from him to regain her personal space. “Now is not the time.”

Just then, Wynonna makes her way back into the kitchen to drop another box and immediately comes to her sister’s rescue- always Wave’s favorite knight in shining armor. “Hands off my sister, 9 seconds.” She glares at Champ as he steps away from Waverly, but misses when he mumbles, “It was 8 seconds! Loser” under his breath.

Instead of giving Champ the time of day, Wynonna has directed her attention back to Waverly. She gives her sister a small box and wipes off the dust on her hands by brushing her palms against the thighs of her dark skinny jeans. “Alright. That’s the last of it. Gus gave me this and said Uncle Curtis wanted you to have it.” Without another word, Wynonna exits the kitchen and leaves the couple alone with the new item.

“What is it?” Waverly murmurs curiously to herself. Her uncle’s death was somewhat unexpected, so she’s surprised to find a note inside a box of old Dominoes addressed specifically to her. He must have been saving these for a special occasion. She can feel Champ’s breath on the back of her neck as he hovers behind her and reads over her shoulder, while trying to peer into the box in her hands. Seeing that it’s just a cheap gambling game, Champ huffs his disinterest and moves away again. 

“My Dearest Waverly,” she reads aloud. “You know Gus doesn’t like to be bothered with games, so I have no use for these anymore now that you’re out of the house. I hope you’ll accept these as a gift that you can share with someone special someday and that when you feel the cold ivory in your hands, you’ll remember the many nights we stayed up playing long after everyone else had gone to sleep. Those are some of my fondest memories. You’re now the Keeper of the Bones. Treat them well! Love, Uncle Curtis.”

A small tear escapes before Waverly can catch it. It slides slowly down her cheek and she absently wipes it away. “He always said I was meant for bigger things.” She turns to face Champ. “He paid for every one of my crazy online courses. You know, Dead Languages, Offbeat History… We’d stay up late at night playing Dominoes and he’d listen while I told him about all of the different things I was studying. God, it used to drive Gus nuts! But, he believed in me. I can’t think of a better gift. ‘The Keeper of the Bones’.” Seeing his blank look, she explains. “Dominoes are traditionally made from ivory… You know, bones? So, people often call Dominoes ‘bones’. It was a running joke between the two of us when I was younger. He called himself the ‘Keeper of the Bones’ and made it sound like some creepy honor you had to earn.”

Completely missing the point and disregarding Waverly’s moment of nostalgia, Champ offers another crass joke. “You know, you’ll always be the keeper of my boner. Huh?” Waverly visibly cringes. Seeing the muscles working in her locked jaw, Champ tries to break through her serious demeanor. “Come on, let’s shut that brain off for a little bit.” He tries wrapping his arms around her again to whisper in her ear suggestively, but she pushes him away roughly again.

“No.” Waverly states firmly. “I don’t- I don’t want my brain _shut off._ Okay?” An epiphany hits her right then. Like the sun breaking through a cloudy sky, Waverly finally realizes what she should have seen a long time ago. “It turns out that a boner and a pickup aren’t the whole enchilada. No. We’re done.” She sounds surprised, but quickly gains confidence. What she’s saying may have been unexpected, but feels absolutely right. “Yeah. We’re done, Champ. Go home. I’ve got work to do.”


	5. Exhaustion

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know it's been a long time since the last update. I apologize! This is my first multi-chapter fic and while the ideas often flow, the words do not. I'm working on it. Thanks for your patience and for reading!!

_Waverly caps the dry erase marker in one hand while she reaches up with the other to rub the tense muscles stretching between her neck and shoulder. She places the marker back in the tray and reads over the next day’s assignment on the white board, checking for errors or points of possible confusion for her students. Satisfied, she moves to turn back to her desk when she feels soft arms gently wrap around her middle from behind, halting her movement. She probably would’ve jumped a mile if she hadn’t heard Nicole sneaking in the back of the room a few seconds ago. No words are needed right away as Waverly leans back into the embrace and allows Nic to take on some of the burden from her day. She rubs her hands up and down the toned forearms clasped at her stomach and leans her head back onto a strong shoulder, closing her eyes. Together, they sway slightly as if dancing to music only they can hear._

_Nicole leans down and places a light kiss on Waverly’s shoulder, inhaling the scent of jasmine and honeysuckle that seems to always cling to the smaller girl. “You okay?” Nicole mumbles into the fabric of Waverly’s shirt. “I’m exhausted,” Waverly tiredly replies and begins to lift her head again. Nicole takes the opportunity to look closely at the teacher’s weary face. “I know, baby” she whispers as she lightly kisses the girl’s temple. She removes one hand from Waverly’s waist and uses her long fingers to gently brush a few stray hairs behind the girl’s ear. The innocent movement exposes Waverly’s long neck and Nicole can’t help the way her eyes follow a magnetic path from ear to collar bone and back again. She leans closer and drops a gentle kiss on Waverly’s pulse point. When the officer feels the smaller girl’s quick intake of breath as she leans into the kiss, she can feel her own heart speed up in response. She knows she shouldn’t, but she can’t help kissing her again, placing her lips gently just outside Waverly’s sweet, relaxed smile._

_Apparently, Nicole’s heartbeat isn’t the only one increasing, because the next thing she knows, Waverly has turned in her arms and has attached their lips in a deep, slow kiss. Nicole knows she should stop. She knows how hard Waverly has been working lately, the long nights of planning and grading taking quite a toll on the new teacher. She wasn’t trying to start anything, just wanted to let the other woman know she understood what she’s going through. But, when Waverly pushes her tongue into Nicole’s mouth, she forgets all of her good intentions and falls blindly into the moment._

_Waverly’s lips are becoming more insistent now as her hands start lightly burning trails up and down Nicole’s arms and across her shoulder blades. She pushes Nicole back slightly and the officer feels the hard wood of Waverly’s desk meet the back of her legs. Waverly’s hands cup Nicole’s face and pull her closer, never allowing their lips to separate. It’s like they can’t get enough of each other. Nicole pushes her weight up with her hands, allowing her to slide onto the surface of the desk. She’s silently thankful that the teacher is such a neat freak and has nothing on the surface of her desk, so the officer doesn’t have to worry about messing anything up in their haste. She spreads her legs, sliding her hands around curvy hips and pulling the smaller girl closer to rest between her open thighs. Waverly’s lips curl into a delicious smile as she sighs into their kiss._

_Nicole takes the opportunity to bring her mouth back to Waverly’s neck as she licks and nips along the soft skin she finds there. She feels more than hears the teacher groan in response, which spurs her to deepen the movements. She drags her teeth over the other girl’s pulse point and is just considering biting down when she feels a hand on her chest, halting her movements. She peers up questioningly and Waverly laughs lightly at the way Nicole looks like a chastised puppy. She weaves her fingers into the hair at the base of Nicole’s neck and smiles sweetly at her. “Don’t you dare leave a mark where my kids can see it, Nicole Haught. I’ll never hear the end of it.”_

_Nicole concedes the point, but thinks in her head, **she didn’t say I couldn’t leave a mark where the kids CAN’T see it, right?** That thought urges her forward as she captures Waverly’s lips in another searing kiss. She can feel Waverly’s nimble fingers tugging at the buttons on her uniform shirt and within seconds, it’s wide open exposing her milky white torso to the cool classroom air. Waverly gently pulls out of their kiss to take a moment to appreciate the beautiful woman in front of her. Nicole leans back on her hands and lifts one eyebrow, inviting Waverly to enjoy the view, secretly loving the lust she can see burning in the teacher’s eyes as they roam her body. When she can’t take it anymore, Waverly reaches forward and presses both hands firmly onto the skin at Nicole’s ribs just below her lacy black bra, causing the redhead to suck in a quick breath. She runs her hands around to the back of her hips and tugs, not so gently, causing the officer to slide forward on the desk and pushes firmly into Nicole’s center, causing both women to moan lightly. _

_Now, they’re both breathing hard, connecting lips to skin, lips to lips, hands to skin, wanting to touch and be touched everywhere at once. In one fluid motion, Nicole pulls Waverly’s shirt over her head and tosses it to the side before kissing her hard again. Waverly pulls out of the kiss quickly and uses one hand to pull her hair over one shoulder where it falls perfectly in place **like a fucking goddess** before attaching their lips again and pushing Nicole to lay down on the desk. She’s just climbed on top of Nicole, hovering over the officer on her hands and knees, kissing her passionately when they both jolt at the sound of someone knocking on the door. ___

__

____

*****

The teacher jumps in surprise and lifts her head from her now tingling arms. She glances over to the desktop computer’s swirling screensaver and gently wiggles the mouse to wake it up again. 6:00 P.M. blinks at her from the bottom, right hand corner. She sighs and pushes herself from her seat, resigning herself to the fact that everything left to be done would have to wait until tomorrow. 

_Tap Tap Tap_

Turning her head, she sees Officer Haught standing respectfully outside her classroom door and waves a hand inviting her in. 

“Hey, I saw your light on while I was walking out. You’re here awfully late tonight. Everything ok?” 

Waverly smiles in appreciation of the concern, glad the officer didn’t seem to have caught her napping at her desk. “I’m exhausted,” she replies honestly. Flashbacks from her dream come flooding into her conscience and she ducks her head to hide her now flaming cheeks. If Nicole notices, she doesn’t mention it. 

“I’ll bet. You guys certainly don’t get enough credit for everything you do.” Waverly nods tiredly, moving to collect her things. “If you’re heading out, I’ll be glad to walk with you. You really shouldn’t leave by yourself, you know. Safety first and all that.” Waverly secretly loves the way Nicole’s dimples show when she’s teasing. 

“Yeah. I think I’ve given it all I can for today. Let’s go.” 

Officer Haught gallantly holds the door open, allowing the smaller girl to exit before turning off the light and locking the door behind them. They make trivial conversation, asking about each other’s day and plans for the upcoming weekend as they walk out of the building. Thankfully, the dark night hides Waverly’s still burning cheeks and the quick glances she keeps sneaking at Nicole wondering how she would react if she had any idea what the teacher had been dreaming about just before the officer arrived at her classroom door. Waverly would be mortified if Nicole ever found out about her impure thoughts. She shakes her head to force the images away again. _I definitely need to get more sleep at night_ Waverly thinks as she bids the officer goodnight and they go their separate ways.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I finally fell down the tumblr rabbit hole. Come visit me... intosapphicfiction :)


	6. Don't Lie

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Happy hour= drinking and dancing

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments seriously make a difference in how frequently I post. I can't tell if you guys like what you're reading or not...???

“You know I like a good football game just as much as the next small town hick, but I am for once very grateful to have a bye week and a night off.” Wynonna raises her bottle neck and clinks it against Nicole’s before they both tip them back and enjoy big gulps of the cold brews. “I’m with ya on that,” she replies to the toast. 

The Officer and the Dean were commiserating their hectic work week at Shorty’s Friday night. So far, they had managed to avoid most talk about work until that moment, even treading into somewhat strange territory when Wynonna admitted one of Waverly’s snotty friends had suggested she get a butt-lift, to which Nicole promptly replied something about her ass being top shelf. It was an incredibly bromantic moment that Nicole kind of hoped they both forgot about by tomorrow morning. The part of the conversation she wanted to commit to memory, however, revolved around her favorite World Languages teacher. Nicole hadn’t admitted her enormous crush on the girl to anyone else, but she secretly beamed when Wynonna said she wished Waverly spent more time hanging out with her. She couldn’t help but agree with that particular sentiment.

The door to the bar opens, blowing in a cloud of freezing fresh air that catches the officer’s attention. _Speaking of our adorably cute, Little Earp._ She considers pretending she hadn’t seen Waverly walk in, but Wynonna’s head swings around and catches her sister’s eye immediately. “Hey babygirl! Come to mingle with the commoners?” Nicole notices Waverly roll her eyes and give her older sibling a quick one-over to gauge her level of current drunkeness. Apparently satisfied with what she sees, the young teacher makes her way through the bar’s patrons to join the two women. “Ahhh. Looks like I’m not the only single lady not really sure what to do on a no-football Friday night.” Waverly jokes, hanging her coat on a nearby stool and pulling up a chair. She nods in the officer’s direction. “Officer Haught.” Nicole smiles shyly at the formality and nods right back. “Miss Earp.” _Single? Did she just say single?_ Nicole’s mind starts spinning with questions she is too afraid to voice out loud. Instead, she averts her gaze and begins to nervously pick at the label on her beer while the other girl settles in.

Being that Wynonna lacks a filter, she slings an arm around Waverly and blurts out the first thing that comes to mind. “’Bout time you dropped that douche canoe. He never was good enough for you, babygirl. There’s a great guy out there waitin on you somewhere.” 

“Or girl” Nicole thinks she mumbles that last bit to herself, but receives a confused, slightly inebriated stare from Wynonna who obviously heard her. She quickly tries to cover her tracks. “You know… it’s 2017. Love is fluid and all that. Just sayin. Why limit your options?” She chugs what’s left of her beer and jumps out of her chair, offering to get the next round, trying to escape the awkward can of worms she just opened up. She can feel the heat flaming her face as she makes her way to the bar and prays the topic of conversation has changed by the time she returns. Waverly follows Nicole’s path to the bar with her eyes, mulling over what she just said. _Huh. Why limit your options…_ “Waverly! Are you listening to me?” Waverly pulls herself out of her own head as her gaze falls into the frowning face of her sister. “Sorry, Wy. It’s been a hell of a week.” She rubs her hand over her face to emphasize her point. “What were you saying?” As Wynonna launches back into her story, Waverly feels her attention drifting back to the tall redhead at the bar. At least this time she remembers to nod and “mm hmm” during her sister’s story, though if you asked her later, she’d have no idea what it was about.

*****

About an hour later, all three women were more than a few drinks in and feeling the pleasant buzz of alcohol making their vision just slightly blurry and everything seem increasingly funnier. At some point, Waverly’s chair had unintentionally scooted closer to Nicole’s. The officer could feel the heat coming from the smaller woman every time she accidently brushed against her arm or leg and Nicole wonders if the younger Earp can feel the electric shocks she keeps sending through her body with every innocent touch. When Brett Eldridge’s song “Don’t ya” comes on, Nicole has to fight an internal groan and curses the Fates that were so obviously torturing her this evening. Glad that the other girls were lost in conversation, she takes the opportunity to really look at Waverly for the first time all night. 

__  
Girl you cut those jeans just right  
I know you didn't buy 'em like that  
So baby don't even try that  


Nicole’s eyes roam from Waverly’s worn-in leather boots, up beautifully toned calves and tan thighs to her itty bitty jean cut-offs that were definitely cut just right with the pockets barely hanging out of the bottom near the frayed denim strings.

__  
You dance, Oh you mooove  
Like there ain’t nobody watchin’  
But girl you know I’m watchin’  


When Waverly had pulled Wynonna onto the dance floor earlier, Nicole was definitely watching. She couldn’t take her eyes off of the beautiful woman as she moved freely like she couldn’t care less who saw her. 

The song breaks into the chorus and Nicole shakes herself out of the moment. She allows her gaze to travel the room, always checking the perimeter and exits out of habit. The Earp sisters were still happily discussing… something… To be honest, she lost the train of conversation a while ago and had yet to tune back into it. Waverly glances up every now and then to smile shyly at Nicole, as if acknowledging her presence, so she won’t feel ignored. Then, she quickly looks back to her sister again.

__  
You've been lookin' over here all night  
And When I look, you look away  
Oh I love the little games you play  


Nicole swallows another big gulp of her beer, thinking the powers that be have really upped their game tonight. This song is going to be the death of her- she knows it. 

__  
Yea I bet you didn't mean to brush my hand when you walked by me  
Like you didn't mean to drive me crazy  


There was a slight lull in the conversation in front of her, so Nicole takes her chance while she has the courage. “I love this song! Miss Earp, would you do me the honor?” She holds out her hand and winks at Waverly to let her know she’s kidding with the old fashioned behavior. Before she knows it, they are on the dance floor, moving along to the heavy beat.

__  
Don't lie, you've got it all figured out  
That smile, has got me spinnin' around  
Don't even try actin' like it ain't no thing  
Cause I can see you move a little closer, closer  
Girl I gotta get to get to know ya, know ya  
Everything about ya makes me want ya, want ya  
Know what you're doin baby don't ya, don't ya  


The dance starts out innocently enough. In fact, both girls are a little bit shy around the other. Luckily, Waverly loves to dance and quickly falls into her habit of letting loose when she is on the dance floor. This includes grabbing Nicole’s hand, spinning under the officer’s arm and backing herself right into the redhead’s personal space. Nicole is glad the other girl can’t see the look of shock on her face at the move, but she is sure she could feel her abs clench in response to her front meshing with Waverly’s back. She feels the younger girl gasp a little at the first touch of their bodies, but she continues moving her feet to the music anyway. Thankful for the night’s liquid courage, Nicole takes yet another chance by resting both of her hands lightly on Waverly’s hips, just above her front pockets, locking their bodies together and allowing them to sway in the same rhythm.   
Waverly’s neck is burning where she can feel Nicole’s breath hitting it, but she doesn’t dare move, afraid to break the moment. Both of their hearts are beating with far more than exertion from dancing. When the officer whisper-sings a few words from the chorus gently in her ear, Waverly forgets to breathe altogether.

__  
Cause I can see you move a little closer, closer  
Girl I gotta get to get to know ya, know ya  
Everything about ya makes me want ya, want ya  
Know what you're doin baby don't ya, don't ya  


She turns herself in the redhead’s arms, but keeps the close proximity, looking up questioningly into the officer’s eyes. Nicole can see the emotions written across Waverly’s face, making her want to spill every truth she has inside, but she can’t seem form the right words. Her hands are still on Waverly’s hips, but the smaller girl has now wrapped her arms around Nicole’s neck where she is running her fingers gently through the baby hairs there and it’s incredibly distracting. Dark chocolate eyes search hazel orbs then watch as they dip down to soft, pink lips and back up again. Nicole sees Waverly’s tongue peek out and wet her own lips. 

“Nic…” 

“Wave…”

They both begin speaking at the same time, but are cut short when someone drunkenly stumbles into them from behind, pushing Waverly out of Nicole’s arms and back a few feet. Waverly shakes her head a little, apparently remembering where they are and heads back toward the safer territory of their high top table. More than a little annoyed about the lost moment, Nicole spins around, ready to confront the drunken idiot that just ruined her night.

Champ regains his footing and steps close into Nicole’s space. “I saw all that, you know.”

“Not now, Champ.” Nicole attempts to sidestep the boy-man so she can follow Waverly who is quickly making her way back towards their table.

Champ blocks her path and sneers. “So you two are like together now, eh? That’s disgusting. Disgusting!”

The officer tries to be the bigger person and starts walk away again, but the drunken boy-man is relentless. “You know, as soon as we break up, you just swoop in and steal my girl?”

Nicole had had enough. “Ok. LOWER your voice. Waverly doesn’t _belong_ to anyone” she grits out between clenched teeth.

Hearing her name, Waverly looks back and notices the confrontation at the same time Wynonna begins making her way over from across the room.

“Yeah. Blah blah blah. Feminine blah” she hears Champ saying.

“Champ!” Waverly jumps in. “You’re drunk and apparently a raging homophobe.” 

“Oh, you think is because she’s a girl?” All three women stare at him blankly as if saying _duh_. 

Wynonna tries to interfere now. “Champ, I think you’ve had enough. Why don’t you go home?”

He ignores her and continues, gesturing to Waverly and saying, “You know, every time I failed that Preliminary Law Enforcement Exam, she would say, ‘That’s okay, Champ. You have nothing to prove.’ Apparently that was a lie. She’s datin’ a cop.”

All of the air seems like it gets sucked out of the room by a vacuum as everyone digests what Champ just said. Nicole’s shocked gaze locks onto Waverly’s panicked face. Champ chugs what’s left of his drink and slams it on the table, not noticing the effect of his words. Wynonna is about to step in and clock the guy, but Waverly throws a hand out to stop her.

“Not that it’s any of your business, Champ,” Waverly manages through clenched teeth. “but, Officer Haught and I are _not_ dating. We’re barely even friends!” 

Nicole feels like she’s been slapped. She opens her mouth to say something, changes her mind and closes it. Instead, she shakes her head as she pushes past their small crowd to grab her coat and storms out the door, into the cold night, leaving the Earp sisters to deal with Waverly’s boy-man ex.

Champ shrugs and slurs, “Could’a fooled me. I saw the way you two were dancin’.” 

Waverly barely hears him as she’s watching Nicole walk away and quickly realizes what she just said. “Fuck” she mumbles under her breath. She turns to her sister with pleading eyes, begging her to save her, like she always does.

Wynonna understands the silent request and pulls her sister into a one-armed hug. “Go” she whispers. “I’ll take care of this asshole. You go find Nicole.”

Waverly smiles her thanks, grabs her things and races out into the night. She sees Nicole walking stiffly down the block and is about to call out to her when the redhead opens the door of a waiting cab and gets in. The younger Earp stomps her foot in frustration and clenches her fists tightly before angrily heading back towards the bar where Champ Hardy was about to get yet another piece of her mind.


	7. Apologies & Confessions

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Short, but necessary filler.

The next morning, Nicole wakes up with a groan and scrubs her hand over her face to clear the sleep from her eyes. She thinks the pounding in her head seems abnormally loud this morning, until she realizes someone is _actually _pounding on her front door. She rolls over with a muttered curse and decides to ignore whoever it is until they get the hint and go away.__

__“Nicole! Open the door!” Waverly’s voice breaks through Nicole’s sleepy haze._ _

__“Go away!” Nicole responds like a petulant, sleepy child. Instead of listening, this fuels the overactive ball of energy outside her apartment even more and the pounding resumes vigorously. Unable to take the noise any longer, Nicole ungracefully rolls herself out of bed and pads over to wrench the door open and pin Waverly with what she hopes is an intimidating glare._ _

__Unfazed, Waverly greets Nicole with one of her signature, mega-watt smiles, holding out a warm cup of coffee in front of her as a peace offering. Nicole rubs her hand over her face again. It’s entirely too early to be that chipper, she decides. She assumes Waverly is there for a reason, so she accepts the coffee and turns away from the door, leaving it open in invitation for the younger girl to enter._ _

__Waverly quickly accepts the unspoken invitation by closing the door behind them and hanging her coat and scarf on the rack. She wanders into the living room where Nicole is now laying on her stomach, sprawled across the couch with her eyes closed, the coffee sitting untouched on the end table beside her. “You know, the caffeine has to actually make its way into your system for it to work,” she jokes. When the redhead merely grunts in response, Waverly sighs. She knew this wouldn’t be easy._ _

__The younger Earp seats herself as close to the officer as she can, which happens to be on the coffee table since Nicole didn’t seem keen on sharing her couch at the moment. “Nicole… about last night. I’m sorry for what I said.”_ _

__This gets Nicole’s attention and she turns her head toward Waverly, indicating she is listening._ _

__Waverly continues, “We were all having such a great time until Champ showed up and ruined things. He literally pushes every button I have, I swear! There was this one time…” She can feel herself getting worked up, so she stands as if she’s going to begin pacing, but seems to think better of it and sits back down on the coffee table as she trails off, realizing she was losing the point._ _

__“Anyway. Nevermind. What matters is that I allowed him to get under my skin and I never should have said we weren’t friends. Because we are. I mean we were. Until I opened my big mouth. I mean… right?” Big, brown puppy dog eyes look up at Nicole through dark lashes. The redhead isn’t quite sure what to say, so she lifts one shoulder in a small shrug and chews on the inside of her bottom lip. She rolls over into a slightly elevated position and grabs her coffee from the end table, thinking this conversation probably deserved more of her attention than she was currently giving._ _

__Nicole sets the coffee down again and decides to bite the bullet by acknowledging the elephant in the room. “Waverly, you realize I wasn’t only angry about that, right?”_ _

__Confused, Waverly wracks her brain for what else was said last night that could’ve upset the redhead, but she comes up blank. She shakes her head in defeat, thinking this apology was decidedly **not** going the way she planned and Waverly Earp was a planner, damnit. She doesn’t like the unsettled feeling of not knowing where this conversation is going anymore. Nicole chuckles sardonically at Waverly’s blank look. Of course, she doesn’t get it. She is going to have to spell it out completely. Otherwise, it would be too easy, right?_ _

__“God, Waverly! For someone so fucking brilliant, sometimes you’re absolutely clueless.” She grins wryly at the other girl to soften the sting of that statement. She takes a leap of faith and grabs one of Waverly’s hands in both of her own, turning it over and trailing her fingers teasingly along her palm. Nicole can feel the sparks flying between their hands, but doesn’t look up as she pushes on to get through the rest of her point. “Can you feel that?” she whispers, almost afraid to ask._ _

__Surprised, but intrigued, Waverly nods. Then, she realizes Nicole isn’t looking at her anymore, so she clears her suddenly dry throat and mumbles a quiet “uh huh”. She mentally rolls her eyes at her less than articulate response. The tingles racing through her arm are confusing, yet pleasant, and she doesn’t want them to stop. She can feel her chest constricting. It’s all of a sudden a little warmer in the apartment and it’s getting increasingly harder to breathe._ _

__“Tell me you didn’t feel this last night when we were dancing… Tell me you don’t feel it now.” Nicole whispers. She chances a glance up at Waverly and can see the conflicting emotions running rampant across the younger girl’s features. She stops tracing invisible lines on Waverly’s palm and simply holds it for a moment in both of her own. Reaching with one hand, she cups Waverly’s face and locks their eyes together. “I don’t think I want to be your friend, Waverly. At least… I’m not sure I can _just_ be your friend.” _ _

__Waverly reaches up to cover Nicole’s hand that is still cupping her cheek. Her eyes race back and forth across the redhead’s calm gaze, finding an abyss of openness and vulnerability on the officer’s face. She struggles to form words and feels like the heat of the apartment is quickly becoming unbearable. She panics._ _

__“I… I have to go.” Waverly pulls Nicole’s hand from her face, stands up and snags her coat, not turning around as she mutters another quick apology. “I’m sorry, Nicole. I just… I have to go.” She hears the quick sigh, but doesn’t see the look of utter devastation on the other girl’s face as she races out of the apartment and slams the door in her haste to escape._ _

__Nicole falls back into the couch cushions with a groan, raking both hands across her furrowed brow. _That went well._ The pounding in her head seems to have reach an all new high. _Ugh. What a way to start a Saturday.__ _


	8. Well that clears it up

**Babygirl:** Going for a walk. A long, looong walk. Be home later.

**Bigsis:** Uhm ok? Call me if you need anything.

Waverly almost smiles at the sentiment as she pockets her phone again and continues her trek through the icy cold streets towards the outskirts of town. Her mind is racing with images and tidbits of conversations from last night and this morning. Things with Nicole are a mess, to put it lightly. She’s never felt this confused by someone before. Hell, she’d never felt this many different emotions altogether about someone before.

The frozen air feels good against her quickly numbing cheeks. The whipping wind is keeping her grounded while her thoughts carry her away in a million directions. Waverly is a planner. Things in life are very predictable because she always thinks through the possibilities before they happen. However, she thinks nothing could have prepared her for the snow storm that is Officer Haught and the havoc she seems to be inflicting on Waverly’s fragile heart.

_Ok. Think. The first step in solving a problem is admitting you have one._ “Oh, I definitely have a problem!” she huffs out loud to the thankfully empty streets. 

_Step two: analyze every angle._

Waverly remembers her first week at school when she had a run-in with the wonky water fountain. She remembers awkwardly meeting the kind officer who saved the day by providing her with a dry shirt to wear. She had asked Waverly about getting a cappuccino. Was that an invitation for a date? Or, was Nicole just being friendly? Waverly stops her frantic marching to think about it. _Hmmm. Let’s leave that one alone for now._ She continues trudging through the snow.

Next, she remembers the altercation in Champ’s classroom with John and how after all was said and done, only Nicole really saw how upset Waverly had been when he got expelled. She thinks about how dejected the officer looked when she was comforting Waverly and Champ butted in, overcompensating as usual. She was so wrapped up in him, she barely noticed at the time.

Then, Waverly remembers the Homecoming dance and the burning fury she felt at Nicole’s “handsy” date. She was mortified when she found out Nicole’s best friend was gay and simply affectionate towards her, but in a purely platonic way. _“It’s called jealousy,”_ her brain prompts. Waverly stops in her tracks again. _Shit. Jealousy? No… yes. Crap. I really was jealous!_

She’s made her way through town now. The buildings are becoming fewer and farther in between, but she keeps on marching. This walk has been great for clearing a few things up. Why stop now?

Waverly thinks back to her dream from last week. She woke up feeling embarrassed, sure. But also… turned on? Nicole Haught is a beautiful woman. Anyone can see that. But, she’d never been attracted to a woman in her life. She had chalked the dream up to lack of sleep and stress at the time. After this morning’s conversation, though, maybe there really was something more to it. 

Last night, when they were dancing? She’d be lying if she said she couldn’t feel the palpable heat between her and Nicole. Waverly shivers with the memory and it has nothing to do with the cold she feels now. When she’d turned in the officer’s arms and locked on to increasingly dark brown eyes, Waverly had found it hard to breathe. They’d both started talking at the same time, though what she was planning to say was anybody’s guess. She saw Nicole’s eyes dart down to her lips and felt her own tongue wet hers in response. 

_Oh my God. I wanted her to kiss me. I would’ve LET her kiss me!_ This thought hits her so hard, she feels like a cartoon character that was just whacked with a giant frying pan. Nicole’s words from this morning filter back into her conscience:

_“God, Waverly! For someone so fucking brilliant, sometimes you’re absolutely clueless.” She grins wryly at the other girl to soften the sting of that statement. She takes a leap of faith and grabs one of Waverly’s hands in both of her own, turning it over and trailing her fingers teasingly along her palm. Nicole can feel the sparks flying between their hands, but doesn’t look up as she pushes on to get through the rest of her point. “Can you feel that?” she whispers, almost afraid to ask._

_Surprised, but intrigued, Waverly nods. Then, she realizes Nicole isn’t looking at her anymore, so she clears her suddenly dry throat and mumbles a quiet “uh huh”. She mentally rolls her eyes at her less than articulate response. The tingles racing through her arm are confusing, yet pleasant, and she doesn’t want them to stop. She can feel her chest constricting. It’s all of a sudden a little warmer in the apartment and it’s getting increasingly harder to breathe._

_“Tell me you didn’t feel this last night when we were dancing… Tell me you don’t feel it now.” Nicole whispers._ Waverly had wanted to say yes, she absolutely feels it- whatever “it” is. But, she was too afraid, so she had just stared helplessly at Nicole, searching her face for answers to questions she wasn’t ready to ask.

_“I don’t think I want to be your friend, Waverly. At least… I’m not sure I can **just** be your friend.” _

“Unnnnggg. She’s right! I am absolutely clueless!” Waverly groans into the open air, thankful that no one is around to hear her talking to herself. She kicks at the snow in front of her, taking out some of her frustration on the powdery ground. Now that she has analyzed, maybe over-analyzed the problem, she still doesn’t feel any closer to a solution. 

Moving back to Purgatory was supposed to be easy. She’d gone out on her own and done the college thing. She’d come back, gotten the predictable job, started dating the predictable guy and was prepared to settle down in her predictable life. Now, here she is… wherever the hell she is. She pauses her trek and looks around confused by her surroundings, not realizing how far she’d walked. Anyway, here she is in a completely unpredictable situation, in an unpredictable place and is no closer to finding a solution than when she’d began this morning.

The sound of crunching tires pulling up beside her tugs Waverly from her thoughts. She rolls her eyes as Nicole leans out of her cruiser window. _Of course, she would be the person to find me_ “Waverly, what are you doin?”

“Being alone? I wanna be alone.” Waverly keeps walking, as Nicole’s cruiser slowly crawls along beside her.

“Alright. Well, you’ve reached the edge of town, so any further out and you’re going to freeze to death. C’mon. Get in the car.” Waverly knows it’s a request, but it sounds like a demand and she’s really not in the mood to be told what to do today.

“No, thank you.” She can’t even look at Nicole. The redhead really doesn’t deserve the cold shoulder, but honestly, if it weren’t for her, Waverly would still be happily living her predictably boring life! So, yeah. Maybe she’s a little salty about it.

“I got a tazer,” Nicole teases now. “Don’t you make me use it.” 

That makes Waverly pause at last. _She wouldn’t… would she?_ Probably best not to find out. She huffs in frustration and climbs in the passenger seat of the cop car, where she sullenly crosses her arms and stares out the windshield, like a chastised child. 

Nicole pulls the cruiser to the shoulder of the road and sighs. She can tell Waverly isn’t going to start this conversation, so she dives right in. “Okay, so I’ll start… I’m sorry for making you uncomfortable earlier.”

Waverly uncrosses her arms, relenting slightly. “I went to your house to apologize. That’s not exactly how I expected things to go.” Now that she’s started, it feels like all of her pent up emotions are screaming to get out, so she lets them loose all at once. “Everything is changing around me, but it’s all too fast! You know? And, it’s like nobody ever asks me if I’m okay with it. It’s like, could everybody just stand still for one fricking minute?!” She sighs deeply and turns to stare angrily out the windshield again.

“Hey…” Nicole reaches over the console to place a comforting hand on Waverly’s leg. “It’s going to be okay.” Waverly looks at her hand as if it’s an offensive object, so Nicole retracts it quickly.

Some of the fight seems to have leaked out of Waverly now. “I just screamed at you,” she says quietly. “You shouldn’t be nice to me.”

Nicole scoffs at that. “Yeah, well. I think you’ve been dating too many shitheads.”

“We’re _not_ dating!” Waverly’s statement is sharp in the quiet car and shoots like lightening into Nicole’s fragile heart. 

“I know,” the redhead backpedals. “God, Waverly. I would never ask you to be someone you’re not.” 

“Good. Just don’t ask me to be anyone at all.”

“Fine.” Nicole is quickly losing patience. She is just trying to help, after all. There’s no need to get snarky.

“Fine.” Waverly repeats the word like they’re kids again.

Nicole rolls her eyes, but doesn’t say anything. “Well… maybe just friends?” Waverly finally offers.

“Sure, Waverly. Whatever you want.” Nicole decides she’s had quite enough of this conversation, so she puts the car back in gear and heads back towards town. Not another word is spoken the entire ride, both women lost in thoughts in their own heads, wondering what the other is thinking, but not willing to ask.


	9. Drifting

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Things are super awkward between Nicole and Waverly.

It’s been about a week since Nicole picked Waverly up from her long, long walk. The officer had kindly dropped the younger girl off at the homestead and headed back towards town. Wynonna had taken one look at the angry expression on Waverly’s face when she arrived home and headed straight for the kitchen. She grabbed a bottle of bourbon and a glass, set them both beside her little sister, kissed the crown of her head, and walked away without a word, leaving Waverly alone with her thoughts once again. When she came back to check on Waverly a few hours later, she found her staring out the window and the bare landscape, the bottle of bourbon still untouched in front of her. “Somethin’ you wanna talk about, babygirl?” Waverly simply shook her head and continued to stare blankly. Wynonna took the hint and left her alone again, silently hoping whatever was eating her sister got worked out soon. She hated seeing her so out of sorts.

Now, it was Friday again and Wynonna was burning an invisible hole in the side of Nicole’s head with her pointed stare across the conference table where the administrators were all having lunch. The officer’s head was bent, attention focused on the lunch that she wasn’t really eating, but was pushing around her plate making it appear like she was. She’d been unusually quiet all week and between her odd behavior and Waverly’s, Wynonna was ready to explode. She decides enough is enough. If she can’t get Waverly to talk to her, maybe the officer could shed some light on the situation.

Wynonna’s palm slams on the table right in front of Nicole, startling the young officer into dropping her fork with a loud clatter. Her eyes lift from her plate to Wynonna who is leveling her with the famous “Dean Earp interrogation glare” known to get even the toughest students to spill their beans. Nicole’s eyebrows jump into her hairline in confusion. “What’s up with you, Haughtstuff? You’ve been weird all week. Spill.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about” Nicole hedges. Wynonna watches as the officer averts her gaze, suddenly finding her lunch fascinating again, not able to maintain eye contact under the Dean’s intense scrutiny. 

“Sure, you don’t.” She tries a different approach. “Waves has been weird all week, too. You know anything about that?”

At this, she can see Nicole visibly swallow and begin chewing on her bottom lip. _So much for a poker face._ “Uh… nope. Guess you’d probably have to ask her about that. I haven’t seen her around much this week.” The redhead coughs and shifts in her chair, trying to disguise her discomfort.

_Huh. Interesting._ Wynonna decides to let the officer off the hook for the moment “I see. Yeah. I guess I’ll have to do that.” She thinks back to last Friday night in the bar. She remembers having a great time with Nicole and Waverly, who had just gotten up to dance. She paid them no mind and was looking at her phone when she heard loud arguing begin, bringing her attention back to the other two girls, where Champ was now harassing them. She’d gotten over to them just in time to hear something about Champ being homophobic and Waverly more or less disowning Nicole. She watched the hurt emotions fly across Nicole’s face before the redhead stormed out of the bar. Waverly had gone after her, but when she returned to the bar, she told Wynonna the officer had left. 

Waverly was gone on Saturday morning when Wynonna rolled out of bed. And later, she’d received the strange text from her little sister about going on a long, long walk. She was incredibly quiet when she returned from the walk and had sat staring into space through the front window for hours. Wynonna remembers thinking maybe there was something more to what happened with Nicole and Waverly, but now she knew that _had_ to be the case. For each of them to be oddly sad and keep to themselves all week was weird enough. For Nicole to confirm that she hadn’t even _seen_ much of Waverly? Yeah. Something was definitely up with them. The Dean crunched loudly on the ice from her drink, still studying the officer across from her that had gone back to staring at her lunch, moving food around with her fork again.

*****

Nicole is in a foul mood. She’d caught wind of several instigators spreading rumors during lunch trying to rile up Brody and Nate, two of the school’s hotheads and cause a fight, forcing her to escort one young man to class while Wynonna escorted another, making sure neither of the boys came within ear shot or arm’s reach of the other. She was currently leaning against the wall outside of Nate’s classroom waiting for the bell to ring to escort him once again to his next class. Glancing at her watch for what seemed like the tenth time in as many minutes, she thinks time must surely be moving backwards today. Two more hours, then it’s home free for the weekend. They just needed to make it through to the 3:30 bell without any incidents.

The officer’s knee is bent with her foot supporting her weight on the wall, hands dug deep in her pockets as she stares at the dirty linoleum floor. She nods her head in greeting as a student passes, but otherwise keeps to herself, trying not to draw too much attention. The hallway is pretty empty anyway. Her gaze wanders down the hall to the third door on the left and she shakes her head, chastising herself for letting her thoughts stray to the beautiful World Languages teacher over and over again. Sighing deeply, she thinks about how she’s been avoiding Waverly all week. Yeah, she’d agreed to being friends, but in truth, she wasn’t sure how exactly to do that. Every time she saw the younger Earp, she had to fight the urge to wrap her arms around the teacher’s thin waste and pull her close. Nicole felt like her thoughts were definitely not what she would consider _friendly_ , so it was probably best just to steer clear until she got her bearings again.

When the bell finally rings, doors slam open on all sides of the officer, releasing students like water rushing from multiple open pipes all feeding into the same sewer. Nicole sighs in relief and pushes herself from her perch on the wall. She turns to greet Nate, but pauses when her eyes connect with Waverly’s over his shoulder. Her steps falter and her breath catches in her throat as Waverly smiles shyly and lifts her hand in a small wave. Nicole barely has time to return the gesture before the mass of student bodies in the hallway blocks her view of Waverly entirely. Thinking it’s probably for the best, she brings her attention back to the Nate. She is about to ask him where they are heading next when she sees his eyes go wide like saucers as he steps around her and slams his arm into her back like a mom trying to protect her kid in the passenger seat of a car, pushing her body behind him. _What the hell?_

Before she even has time to react, both of them get slammed to the floor where Nicole’s head connects with the linoleum- hard. She feels an immediate searing pain above her right eyebrow before everything gets really fuzzy. She closes her eyes and thinks this seems like a great time for a nap.

*****

Waverly’s 5th period class is a great group of students, but she feels like this week has dragged on for a month now. She looks at the clock again and realizes there’s still two hours left of the school day. _Two more hours to freedom_ she sighs and resumes her task of grading papers while the students quietly finish up a quiz.

When the bell rings, she walks tiredly to the door to accept the student’s quizzes as they leave. She wishes them all a good weekend and holds the door as they exit. Something catches her attention down the hall and her eyes find Nicole’s through the thickening crowd. Her breath catches for a minute when she meets those chocolate pudding depths.   
She knows Nicole has been avoiding her. They used to bump into each other several times a week as the officer went about her daily rounds of the school. But, this week, she hadn’t seen the redhead enter her hallway even once. At this rate, she isn’t sure how they are going to get back on friendly terms and past all of the awkwardness from last weekend. All she knows is that she misses seeing that dimpled grin directed at her. The hesitant attempt at a smile (but looks more like a grimace) she’s currently receiving is definitely lacking by comparison. 

Waverly smiles shyly at the officer and lifts her hand slightly in greeting, hoping the gesture won’t scare the other woman off again. She’s waiting to see Nicole’s response when the crowd in the hallway blocks her view for a moment. She sighs deeply. _Just as well, I suppose_ , she thinks sadly and is about to return to her classroom when a loud commotion down the hall catches her attention once again. 

Waverly hears footsteps pounding down the hall a millisecond before she sees a mass of bodies go crashing down to the floor near where Nicole was just standing. She takes off running toward the chaos and finds the officer face-down on the floor knocked out cold, surrounded by multiple students that are groaning as they help each other get up, rubbing quickly forming bruises on knees, elbows, and shoulders, trying to figure out what just happened. In the middle of the mayhem, Brody has Nate pinned to the floor and is nailing him in the face repeatedly with giant fists. Nate is blocking himself as best he can by absorbing many of the hits into his arms and trying to shift Brody’s weight off of him.   
Waverly immediately grabs the small radio from its place on Nicole’s shoulder and presses the button down. “Wynonna, Dolls, we need you in the History hallway NOW!!” She can hear the distress in her own voice and prays the Deans arrive soon. Several other teachers are making their way through the students, trying to separate those involved in the fight from the spectators cheering and trying to film the action with their smart phones. They’re slowly succeeding in pushing the crowd back, but Nicole still hasn’t budged.   
Waverly reaches for the radio again. “Nurse Judy, you better get over here, too. Please hurry!”

As gently as she can, Waverly turns Nicole’s body over so she’s laying on her back. She trails her eyes all over the officer’s body looking for injuries, but can only see a large, angry knot that’s forming above a perfectly shaped red eyebrow. Ouch. “Nicole? Can you hear me? Open your eyes, ok? Let me know you’re alright” she pleads with the still unconscious woman.

Waverly feels gentle hands on her shoulders and looks up to see Wynonna crouch down beside her with the school nurse. “Let’s give Nurse Judy some space to work, ok? She’ll take good care of Nicole now.”

The young teacher nods and allows her sister to help her stand up. Looking around for the first time in a few minutes, she can see that most of the students are now back in class. There are a few standing around waiting to give statements about what they saw happen, but the fighting boys are already gone and everyone else seems to have cleared out. “Do you need someone to cover your class, Waves?” Wynonna asks in a concerned voice.

“Uhm… No. No, I’m on planning this period,” Waverly replies shakily. Her eyes drift back down to where Nicole is laying on the floor, blinking groggily up at Nurse Judy who is wiggling smelling salts under the officer’s nose to wake her up. She hears Nicole groan and watches her eyelids flutter open and closed. She’s grateful in that moment that Wynonna still has one arm wrapped around her as she leans into her sister’s much needed strength.

“Well hello there Officer Haughtpants” the older nurse teases Nicole. She stops the officer from trying to sit up with a firm hand on her shoulder, effectively pinning her to the ground. “Oh no you don’t. Stay right where you are, young lady. You took quite a knock to the noggin’!” Nicole groans again, but does as she’s told. 

Nicole tries to look around, but seems to change her mind as her attention focuses back on the nurse. “What happened?” 

“Well, we’re trying to figure that out at the moment,” the nurse replies. “What’s the last thing you remember?”

Nicole’s face lights up with a goofy grin as she says, “Waverly Earp smiling at me from her classroom door.”

Wynonna’s arm tightens around Waverly whose face stretches into a watery grin of her own in response to the softly spoken words. When Nurse Judy looks back at Waverly, she rolls her eyes good naturedly and returns her attention to the officer on the floor.

“Ha! I think you’re going to be just fine, kiddo.” The nurse laughs lightly. “Let’s get you over to the clinic so you can rest for a bit and I can get a better look at you.”

Wynonna and Waverly both bend to help the elderly nurse lift Nicole back to her feet where she sways unsteadily. “Woah. I don’t think you’ll be driving home today, Haughstuff. I’ve got bus duty, so I can’t take you…” she trails off trying to come up with a solution when she remembers her conversation with Nicole earlier and how she knows the officer needs to work out some kinks with her little sister. This might just be the perfect opportunity to work out their kinks. “Babygirl, can you take Nicole home?” 

Waverly looks shocked by the request and stutters, “Wait… me? Why…” but she’s cut off by the sound of Nicole’s giggle.

“You can’t drive my car. They’ll arrest you for impersonating an officer,” Nicole giggles again and oh man, as adorable as that is, it definitely confirms that she hit her head pretty hard, which only increases Waverly’s anxiety about the situation. She decides right then that awkwardness be damned, she needs to help the loopy officer get home.

“Noted, Officer. I’ll make sure to use my own vehicle to take you home” Waverly tells Nicole sarcastically.

Nicole stumbles unsteadily on her feet and giggles again like she’s drunk. She shrugs and simply says, “Well, okay then.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Maybe some forced alone time will be good for our two stubborn ladies??


	10. Headaches and Heart to Hearts

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments fuel my creativity and make me want to post more often! :)

Chinese takeout cartons from dinner litter the coffee table in front of the TV which is turned down low due to Nicole’s headache. Waverly is sitting on one end of the sofa holding an ice pack in place against Nicole’s forehead, while the officer’s long form sprawls out along the rest of the couch. They are about halfway through binge-watching the first season of The 100, since Nicole was shocked to find out Waverly had never seen it. The younger Earp had refused to drop the officer off after driving her home and simply leave, but rather insisted on babysitting the redhead and nursing her through the concussion herself. Instead of arguing, Nicole bargained that if Waverly stayed, this had to be their evening entertainment. Now, she looks up to find the teacher engrossed in the show with many emotions flitting across her features when big things happen or yet another character gets killed. She smiles to herself and shifts to get more comfortable.

Waverly feels Nicole shifting beside her and looks down to check on the other girl. “You doin okay there?”

“Mmm hmmm. Sleepy” the redhead mumbles.

“Oh no, you don’t. Nurse Judy said you have to stay awake for a few more hours.” She gently removes the icepack to check on the lump on Nicole’s forehead. It’s large and discolored. She grimaces and moves to put the icepack back in place, but Nicole stops her hand. 

“It’s cold.”

Waverly snickers. “Yeah, Nic. That’s kind of the point!” 

Nicole sighs and closes her eyes with a small smile. “I like that,” she murmurs sleepily.

The teacher cocks her head to the side in confusion. “You just said it was cold!”

“No… I like it when you call me Nic. It’s nice.” She peeks through one eye, squinting up at Waverly. “The icepack I could do without.”

Waverly moves the icepack to the end table “Ok fine, you big baby. I’ll take it off for a little while.” Having nothing to do with her hands now, she carefully threads one into the fine red hair next to her leg and drags her fingers through the long, soft locks.

“Mmmmm. How do you expect me to stay awake with you doing that?” Nicole adjusts her position to push her head more into Waverly’s hand like a puppy begging to be pet. Waverly takes the opportunity to scratch the officer’s scalp, earning a satisfied groan from the taller girl.

“Well, you could start with opening those big, pretty brown eyes.”

“Uh uh. Don’t wanna.” Waverly rolls her eyes and shakes her head, thinking this injury has adorably reverted Nicole back into a small child. She doesn’t want to argue, so she continues her ministrations and feels the officer begin to drift off. Glancing at her watch, she decides a few minutes of rest probably won’t hurt too much.

A few minutes later, Nicole jolts awake with a gasp and looks around, disoriented and confused to find herself on her couch. She knew she’d been dreaming about… something. But, all she could focus on was the massive headache pounding in her temple. She reaches up and rubs the sleep out of her eyes, pulling herself onto her elbows and glancing around. She spots Waverly dozing off with her head resting on her fist next to her on the couch. She chuckles and attempts to move to sit up, without disturbing her friend, but the motion wakes the smaller girl and Nicole finds herself getting lost in sleepy syrup-colored eyes. 

“Hi,” the redhead smiles shyly.

“Hey,” Waverly replies with a smile of her own. She drags a hand down her face and covers a yawn. Nicole thinks it’s the most adorable thing she’s seen in a while and can’t help it when she blurts out, “My God, you’re beautiful.”

The officer’s eyes sparkle with sincerity and Waverly feels her heart skip a beat at the whispered words, but turns her face away from Nicole bashfully. “And _you’re_ apparently still feeling the effects of that concussion,” she chuckles. “How’s your head?” She lifts a hand as if to touch the knot over Nicole’s eyebrow, but thinks better of it and returns the hand to her lap.

Nicole’s gaze follows the motion of Waverly’s hand and feels disappointed when the girl chooses not to touch her. _“Oh, right. Waverly just wants to be friends”_ she reminds herself sadly. The words taste bitter in her mouth, even though she didn’t speak them out loud. She feels a small frown forming on her face and moves to pull away from Waverly, trying to get up off the couch with a heavy sigh. 

Waverly catches the disappointment on Nicole’s face and it breaks her heart. She stops the girl from getting up by placing a gentle hand on her wrist and bringing their focus back to each other. When their eyes lock this time, Nicole’s seem to be asking questions and Waverly’s seem to hold all the answers. Dredging up all of the courage she has in her tiny body, Waverly leans forward and closes the distance between their lips.

Nicole is caught completely off guard, but melts into the kiss immediately. It feels exactly the way she dreamed it would, soft, warm, slow and sweet, just like Waverly. When the smaller girl pulls back out of the kiss, she seems as dazed as Nicole feels. Nicole gets her bearings first.

“Wave, what…?”

Waverly silences the redhead by placing a finger to the other girl’s lips. “Thank you,” she says breathily. “For the compliment.” Then, she moves her hand to grasp Nicole’s chin, gently pulling the girl in for another kiss while sliding her free hand into long, flowing red hair. When Waverly tilts her head to change the angle and deepen the kiss, she groans lightly as her heartrate speeds up. Aside from her strange dream when she fell asleep at school, Waverly has never even _thought_ about kissing another woman. Now that she’s in the moment, she wonders what other amazing things in life she’s been missing out on. Nicole’s lips are so much softer than she could ever imagine and her hands feel like velvet as they lightly frame her face and drift down her neck.

Wary of Nicole’s injury, Waverly pulls out of the kiss as gently as possible. Both women are breathing hard and searching each other’s mirroring brown gaze. Waverly speaks first. “Nic, I… I think it’s time we finally talked about all of this.”

Nicole couldn’t agree more, but her head was already fuzzy _before_ Waverly kissed her. She doesn’t want to talk, she wants to feel those wonderful lips against hers again and let the smaller woman take her incoherent thoughts into outer space. But, Waverly is already speaking again, so she should probably pay attention.

“I’m… well, I’m straight.” She watches Nicole’s face harden into a distinctly defensive mask. _Woah! Wrong approach,_ she thinks and tries to recover quickly. “Errr. I thought I was. Until… well, until I met you, actually. You’re… special.” At this, Nicole’s face softens again and she seems more receptive to what Waverly is trying to tell her. “And the thing is, this is all so new to me that I thought maybe it was just temporary insanity. That this _need_ to constantly be near you and the butterflies I feel when I see you smile with that adorably dimpled grin. I thought maybe it was a friend crush. Like, excitement over bonding with someone new. But, I realize now… I want to hold your hand while we’re laying on the couch watching TV. I want to pass you in the hallway at school and watch your face light up when you see me. I want to take long drives to the middle of nowhere, just so I can spend time with you all by ourselves.” Her eyes drift down to Nicole’s lips again and she can’t seem to look away. “I want to kiss you until we’re both breathless…” She trails off for a minute, but then seems to remember herself and brings her attention back to the redhead’s now somewhat watery eyes. “Nic, I don’t want to be your friend. I want… I want to be your… well, everything.” She smiles as Nicole sniffles before finishing. “And that scares the crap out of me.”

“I scare you?” Nicole asks carefully, still trying to process everything Waverly just said. 

“Yes. Yes, you do” Waverly admits. “Because when I think about what I want to do most in this world… It’s you.” She swallows and chuckles a little. “Man, that sounded way more romantic in my head. Just uh. Jump in any time Nicole, because I really, really don’t know how to do this.”

Nicole finally comes to her senses and wraps her hands in the tails of Waverly’s shirt, slowly tugging the smaller girl closer to her once again. “Oh, I’m sure you do.” She levels Waverly with a “come and get me” grin as she closes the gap between their bodies.

Waverly takes the hint. “Maybe I should just stop talking.”

Nicole pulls Waverly even closer. “See? You’re getting the hang of this already.” She grins at the flustered younger woman.

“Maybe you should just stop talking, too” Waverly boldly challenges.

“Maybe you should make me” Nicole’s responding dare fuels Waverly into motion as she closes the distance between their mouths with more force this time. This kiss is not slow and sweet like the first. It’s deep and carries all of the pent up feelings both girls have been harboring for weeks. It’s relief and desire, I want you and I need you, all rolled into one searing meeting of warm lips that open slightly to allow tongues to tangle and fight for dominance. Waverly feels herself smiling and even though her eyes are closed tightly, she can feel Nicole smiling, too. Now that they’re finally doing this, she never wants this moment to end.

Unfortunately, Waverly tries changing the angle again, moving to straddle Nicole’s lap and bumps their foreheads together in the process. Nicole pulls away with a hiss as her hand shoots up to touch the lump on her head. Waverly’s hands race to cover her shocked gasp. “Oh, my gosh! Your head. I’m so sorry!”

Nicole gently graps Waverly’s chin and kisses her lightly, just a brief touch of their lips, accepting the apology and confirming she’s alright. “Mmm,” she hums as their lips slowly separate. “As much as I want this, Waves. I think we better take a rain check on seeing where this is leading. At least physically.”

Waverly climbs off of the officer’s lap and sighs in defeat. “I know you’re right. I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to pounce on you like that.”

“Hey” Nicole waits until Waverly is looking at her again. “You can pounce on me anytime you want, Miss Earp,” she finishes with a saucy wink and a big trademark cocky Haught grin.

Waverly can’t help giggling at Nicole’s attempt to cheer her up. It definitely worked. “Alright, alright. How bout we finish our binge watching and save everything else for later?” she offers.

“Now, **that** sounds like a wonderful idea,” Nicole responds. She’s about to settle herself back onto the couch where she was, but changes her mind. She sits up with her arm across the back of the couch and looks at Waverly with a lifted eyebrow, encouraging the smaller girl to come snuggle against her side. Waverly accepts the invitation and folds herself under the officer’s long arm, taking the opportunity to wrap her own arm around the redhead’s middle. She sighs happily and nuzzles her head into the taller woman’s chest where she delights in the slightly elevated heartbeat she can feel pounding under her cheek. Strong arms wrap around her and she can’t remember the last time she’s felt this safe and comfortable with someone. 

Nicole kisses the crown of Waverly’s dark head, restarts the episode they were watching and sends a silent thank you to the powers that be for headaches and heart to hearts.


	11. You Got Soul and You Know How to Use It

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Promised I wouldn't give up on this fic and I haven't. Here's a new chapter for ya. Hope you like it!

A few hours later, Nicole stirs awake again, glancing around slightly disoriented. She can see light streaming in through the curtains and recognizes that she’s in her own living room, but she feels distinctly unsettled like something is missing. Then, she smells coffee brewing and lifts her head to peek above the couch where she finds a very upset Waverly Earp pacing around her kitchen, slamming cupboards and putting down coffee mugs with bit more force than necessary. She groans quietly to herself thinking the added noise was definitely not helping her already pounding headache. Flopping back onto the couch, Nicole searches her memory for what could’ve made the youngest Earp so upset. The events of the night before flash before her eyes, causing a slow, sleepy grin to form on her face. Before she gets a chance to ponder it any further, she feels the cushion beside her press down with the weight of another body and there are light fingers brushing stray hairs out of her face. 

“Must’ve been a good dream to have you waking up with a smile like that, Officer Haught,” Waverly teases.

Without opening her eyes, Nicole reaches over to pull the other woman closer to her and nuzzles sleepily into her side. “Mmmmm. Wasn’t a dream,” she mumbles. Then, she pops her head up quickly to confirm. “Was it?” 

Waverly considers taking this opportunity to mess with the older woman, but decides she can’t resist the sweet, sleepy face in front of her that currently looks confused and maybe a little concerned. She takes pity on the redhead and bends slowly to place a gentle kiss on her forehead. “If you’re talking about last night, no. It wasn’t a dream.”

Nicole sighs happily and nuzzles back into Waverly’s side where she begins to doze off again before she remembers something. She lifts her head slightly to regard her companion curiously. “Why were you abusing my kitchen?”

“Abusing your…?” Waverly trails off as she realizes what Nicole is referring to. She waves her hands vaguely towards the television that Nicole now realizes is paused just after the episode of The 100 they’d been watching the night before. 

“You fell asleep about five minutes into this episode, so I turned it off last night to let you get some rest. But, I wanted to know what happened at the mountain. I made the mistake of watching the end of the episode today and Bah!” The anger is back and Waverly removes Nicole’s arms from her waist so she can get up and stomp around properly. “She just left her! How could she just leave her there? She clearly has feelings for her and they were in this together until now, how could she just walk away like that?!”

It takes a few minutes for Nicole’s foggy brain to make sense of Waverly’s ranting, but eventually she gets it worked out and begins to quietly chuckle. She must have just finished the scene where Lexa leaves Clarke at the mountain to fend for herself and figure out a way to save her people. Waverly still isn’t finished, so Nicole tries to pay attention.

“And what is with Lincoln giving in to the drugs? I thought he would be the strong one? But ohhhh no. Leave it to a guy to give in to the temptation of escaping reality with hardly any fight. What good are you, ya big, sexy hunk of muscle? None. You’re nothing but a meat head in the end. Anyway, back to Lexa. I’m so so so **mad** at her! And…. Why are you laughing?”

Waverly pauses her pacing just long enough to see Nicole attempting to cover a full-fledged laugh with her hand covering her mouth. “What could possibly be funny right now?” Waverly asks indignantly. 

Nicole tries to school her features, she really does. It just doesn’t work. “I can’t help it!” she says between giggles. “You’re so incredibly adorable when you’re angry. And, I feel like I should remind you this is _just_ a fictional TV show, Waves. It’s gonna be okay.”

“ _Just_ a fictional…” Waverly throws her hands in the air in exasperation as she gives up and settles down beside Nicole again with a huff. “You have no idea, Officer Haught. No idea,” she grumbles quietly.

Happy to be snuggling back into the smaller girl, Nicole shrugs and makes herself comfortable again. Waverly allows her the moment, because she is honestly enjoying it, too. But, it’s a new day and there are things to be done. Plus, she’s still in the same clothes from yesterday and really needs to head home soon for a shower and some proper sleep.

“Hey Lazybones, you can’t use me as a pillow all day. C’mon. Up with you.”

“Not uh,” Nicole mumbles. “Don’t wanna.” To emphasize he point, she pulls Waverly tighter and snuggles in closer.

Waverly can feel Nicole’s hair tickling her nose and she has to fight the urge to just give in and stay where she is. It scares her a little how easily she could get used to this. 

“Let’s go, lady. You stink. (She really doesn’t) Time for a shower. But, keep the door cracked open in case you get dizzy and need to call for me.”

This piques the redhead’s interest and she sits up slightly to throw a sexy smile towards the young teacher. “Why Miss Waverly Earp, are you trying to get yourself an invitation into my shower? I do believe you owe me at least dinner first.”

Waverly can feel her cheeks burning, even though she knows Nicole is teasing and she turns her face away to hide the blush. She has to admit she would love to receive that invitation someday, but they are way too early into this… whatever this is they’re doing to be getting into all of that. “Behave yourself, young lady. I’m only trying to look out for your well-being. After all, we need our trust officer back in tip-top shape to return to school Monday.”

Nicole takes pity on her… friend? Girlfriend? Gal pal? What are they exactly? Anyway, she takes pity on Waverly and drops a sweet kiss on her cheek as she gets up and moves into the bathroom, snagging a coffee off the kitchen counter on the way to do as she’s been told. 

While Nicole is freshening up, Waverly turns off the TV, still angry with the 100 and not in a hurry to turn it back on. She fluffs the pillows on the couch and tidies up the living room, surprised they both fell asleep sprawled on the couch last night. She throws out the empty Chinese containers, finishes up the coffee and loads their dishes in the dishwasher. With nothing else left to do, she sits at the dining room table and scrolls through her phone to wait for Nicole to finish up. Through the cracked bathroom door, Waverly can hear a small radio playing and Nicole humming along to a song she can’t quite make out due to the sounds of the rushing water.

She doesn’t look up when she hears the water turn off and is engrossed in her Twitter feed until she realizes she can hear the music, and Nicole, quite clearly now.

_“You got the soul and you know how to use it_  
_Put your hand on my hip ‘cause you know how I lose it_  
_You got my heart racin like there’s nothing to it_  
_Fallin in love to the beat of the music”_

Waverly leans her chair back tilting on two legs to get a better view. She grins widely as she watches Nicole dance around the small bathroom braiding her hair, completely oblivious to the appreciative gaze she’s receiving. The fluffy towel the officer has wrapped around her long frame doesn’t hide much and Waverly finds her eyes wandering over strong shoulders and down long, muscular legs. She licks her lips unconsciously and thinks to herself **Ok. Definitely not straight.**

Nicole looks up and catches Waverly watching her. She’s seconds away from spouting out something cliché’ about liking what she sees, but Waverly tries to hide the fact that she was staring and somehow manages miscalculate the precarious balance her two chair legs had found, sending the smaller woman tumbling to the floor. Nicole stands over the tangle of arms, legs, and long brown hair trying unsuccessfully to melt into the floor in embarrassment and raises her eyebrows as she clears her throat. “Ahem. Miss Earp, I do believe I’ve witnessed you telling your students to keep all four chair feet on the floor to avoid a situation much like this.”

Waverly, rolls onto her back and glares playfully at the redhead. “Well, Officer, I don’t think my students have to worry about being distracted by a sexy, half-naked woman in a towel dancing around and singing during my class. I believe I deserve a free pass for this one.” They both burst into laughter at the image that conjures up. Nicole helps Waverly to her feet and sets the chair back up correctly, deciding to store away the “sexy” comment for later.

“Now, if you’ll excuse me, Officer Haughtpants. I do believe I have embarrassed myself enough for one day, so I’m going to head home and get a shower of my own,” Waverly teases. Then, she asks seriously, “Think your head is doing well enough for you to be alone for today? I can come back if you need me to later.”

Nicole wraps Waverly in a gentle hug and kisses the top of her head. “Nah. I appreciate the gesture, but I think I’ll be fine. Thank you for taking such good care of me, Nurse Earp.” She glances around the clean apartment and adds, “And, thank you for cleaning up! You didn’t have to do that.”

Waverly sighs into the hug and feels like she doesn’t want to let go just yet. She places a sweet kiss on Nicole’s exposed collarbone and backs out of the redhead’s arms before she goes getting any ideas of other places she’d like to kiss. “You’re welcome. I’ll call you later?”

Nicole nods and they say their goodbyes, both smiling happily thinking over the last 24 hours. There’s definitely a lot they need to talk about. But, there’s no rush for now.


	12. What She Wants

As luck would have it, something came up at the homestead on Saturday afternoon that Waverly had to deal with well into Sunday evening, meaning she didn’t get a chance to go back and check on Nicole in person. She was going to ask Wynonna to drop by on her way back from town, but Nicole assured her she was feeling much better and didn’t need anyone going out of their way for her. They spoke briefly on the phone a few times and even exchanged a few texts throughout the rest of the weekend.

When Monday morning rolls around, both women are feeling a little bit anxious about seeing one another again. They still haven’t discussed anything substantial about what’s going on between them, so while they are both excited to see the other woman, there are more than a few nerves floating around, as well. 

Nicole whistles as she enters the main office area, feeling the smile she can’t keep off her face and the extra bounce in her step. She greets the front office staff and makes idle chitchat with a few coworkers about what happened Friday, quickly assuring everyone she’s fully healed from her run-in with the floor and is glad to be back. No one questions the extra coffee cup she’s carrying and she sends up a quick prayer of thanks for that. 

Finally escaping the front office, Nicole rounds the corner into the teacher’s lounge, immediately searching out her favorite pair of hazel brown eyes and bright morning smile. What she doesn’t expect, is to find those eyes and smile locked in what appears to be a deep conversation with none other than Champ, the Chump. Waverly is leaning with her weight on her forearms pushing in to the countertop separating the two. Champ’s hand is resting lightly on her wrist where his thumb is rubbing circles as he speaks. If either of them has noticed the officer’s entrance, they don’t acknowledge it. Nicole is immediately taken aback at the close contact and feels the muscles in her face contract as she switches into fight or flight mode. _Fine._ she thinks angrily. _If the boy-man is what she wants, so be it._ She stomps forward and slams the coffee cup beside Waverly, then walks away without turning back. 

Waverly jumps in surprise when a take-out coffee cup appears none to gently on the countertop beside her arm. “Oh! Hey, Nic…” she starts to smile, but feels it fall immediately when Nicole doesn’t even look at her before storming out of the teacher’s lounge. “What the hell?”

Champ removes his hand and pulls away from Waverly when he sees the officer approach. He starts to say something, but is left with his jaw hanging open as he watches the tall, redhead walk away as quickly as she appeared. Turning his attention back to Waverly, he can see her gears turning and realizes she has no idea what just happened, either. The next thing he knows, the youngest Earp grabs the coffee cup and sprints outside to chase after the officer.

“Nicole?” Waverly calls to the back of the retreating officer, but Nicole pretends not to hear her and continues marching toward her office. Just then, the bell rings overhead signaling the beginning of the school day and forcing Waverly to head toward her classroom to let the students in. She’s hurt and confused by Nicole’s actions, but will have to deal with it sometime later in the day. Opening her classroom door and sipping on the warm drink in her hand, Waverly thinks to herself she’s glad there’s coffee, at least. She sighs deeply and pushes the thoughts to the back of her mind. Monday was starting giving her all it had, whether she was prepared for it or not.

*****

By the time lunch rolls around, Nicole has worked herself into a seriously foul mood. She hasn’t spoken to Waverly at all, but that hasn’t stopped the young teacher from texting her between every class period asking what’s wrong and begging Nicole to come by her room, so they could talk. Where Waverly is stuck six class periods a day in her classroom, Nicole has the freedom to leave her office any time she needs to and can go anywhere she wants around campus. _Seriously? What do you **think** is wrong? Am I not supposed to have a reaction to seeing your ex-boyfriend all over you? No, I will not be coming by your classroom today, Miss Earp. No, thank you. I don’t need to hear you let me down easy or make excuses for why you’d rather be with an asshole like him. _ Thankfully, Nicole has the good sense not to say any of that to Waverly. She just ignores the text messages altogether and pretends to be busy working. She locks her computer and slams the door to her office with a bit more force than necessary, thinking today is a great day for lunch off campus. She strolls right out the front doors and heads down the street to grab a sandwich and hopefully, clear her mind.

*****

Waverly sighs when she finds the redhead’s office locked with the lights off. She was hoping to catch Nicole during lunch to talk to her about this morning. But, she was clearly being avoided. If only she could figure out why.

This morning had started off great. She was so excited to see Nicole that she woke up even earlier than her usual crack of dawn. Finding nothing at the homestead to keep her nervous energy at bay, she headed to school early and got a head start planning for the week. She’d been surprised to find Champ waiting for her in the teacher’s lounge and even more surprised when he sincerely apologized for his behavior at the bar last week. He said he’d been thinking a lot about it and felt badly about the way he had spoken to Waverly that night. She accepted his apology and was about to tell him he needed to speak with Nicole, as well, when the object of her thoughts appeared beside her, slamming a coffee cup forcefully on the countertop and storming out the door angrily. Waverly had tried following her and had tried texting her a few times throughout the day, but Nicole was sending her nothing but pure radio static.

_Think, Waverly. The first step in solving a problem… Aw hell, forget that! Why is she avoiding me? Did something happen between yesterday and this morning? She brought me coffee… that was sweet. But, why did she not stick around after delivering it? Ugh! I have no idea what’s going on._

Waverly is lost so deeply in her thoughts, pacing in front of Nicole’s office, she doesn’t see the officer approaching quietly. The sound of keys in the door pulls Waverly from her musings. “Miss Earp, is there a reason you’re stalking my place of work?” Nicole asks coolly, her face and voice void of emotion.

“Uhh hey. Sorry, didn’t see you there. Yes. I was hoping you were free for a minute? To talk?” Waverly can’t help the pleading tone in her voice. She really wants to make things right again.

“No can do, Miss Earp. Things to do, people to see. If you’re looking for some company, why don’t you go find Mr. Hardy? I’m sure he’d love to… talk.” The last word is dripping with angry sarcasm. Nicole doesn’t wait for Waverly’s response. She walks swiftly through her office door, slams it and closes the blinds. Waverly hears the lock clicking into place and feels like she’s been slapped. She stands in front of the door in stunned silence for another minute before turning on her heel and making her way back to her classroom.

_Of all the nerve. Who does she think she is? And what was that dig about going to see Champ for company? Though she clearly didn’t mean it when she said **talk**. Where the hell did that come from, anyway? Why the hell would I want to talk to Champ? I just saw him this… morning._ The lightbulb goes off in Waverly’s mind just as she’s beginning to cross the quad. She stops in her tracks as she finally clues in to what’s been going on with her favorite redhead. Without missing a beat, she spins back around and marches back to Nicole’s office with renewed energy.

The pounding on her door really shouldn’t catch her by surprise. Waverly Earp does not like being ignored, she’s learned. Still, the officer jumps a few inches in her chair when the young teacher attacks her door just moments after she’d walked away in the opposite direction. “Nicole Haught, you better open this door right now!” She sounds angry. That can’t be good. But, what right does _she_ have to be angry? 

Nicole yanks open the door and is about to tell the young teacher exactly how unjustified her anger is when two small hands dart out and forcefully push her back into her office. Nicole closes her mouth with an audible click as Waverly slams the door shut and locks it behind her. Thankfully, the blinds are still closed because the next thing she knows, Nicole’s back is pressed against the wall and her front is being smothered by a very eager youngest Earp who is attacking her lips like she’s drowning and only Nicole’s kiss can save her.

Caught completely off guard, Nicole thinks she should probably be putting an end to this, when Waverly pushes a warm tongue in her mouth and the officer forgets how to breathe, much less think. _Fuck it._ she thinks, as she reverses their positions and presses Waverly against the wall. The younger woman squeals quietly in surprise, but quickly adjusts to the new position. Nicole reaches behind the teacher’s thighs and lifts her small frame easily, thanking the powers that be that Waverly chose to wear a sundress today. 

Waverly wraps her legs around the officer’s hips and grinds down, loving the feel of her center pressing against Nicole’s strong abs. This is getting out of control quickly, but she couldn’t care less. Nicole’s lips are dancing up and down her throat and she can’t help tilting her chin up to allow better access. Her head falls back against the brick wall and she groans, enjoying the sensation of the officer’s mouth on her skin. She uses both hands to grab the redhead’s cheeks and redirect those amazing lips back to her own. They’re both breathing hard, but neither is making a move to stop when a loud bell rings overhead.

Both women groan in response and lean in to rest their foreheads on the other’s shoulder. Nicole speaks up first. “You have **got** to be fucking kidding me.”

Waverly giggles and unwraps her legs from the officer’s tall frame. She places one more light kiss on her lips and whispers, “You and I are _going_ to talk later, Nicole Haught.” She’s using her teacher voice and her tone leaves exactly zero room for argument, so Nicole stays quiet. “But for now, I hope you realize that YOU are the ONLY one I want, you big dummy. No one else.” With that, she exits the office, leaving a happily grinning officer behind to watch her walk away.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Everyone loves a little bit of jealousy that leads to some great making up, right? I've been wanting to write this chapter forever. Just had to get through the other parts of the story to get to it! Hope y'all are enjoying this. :)
> 
> Come talk to me on tumblr if you have thoughts or ideas- intosapphicfiction


	13. Distracted

Nicole feels her eyes glazing over again as she stares at her computer screen, where she is forcing herself to try to get some work done, while trying to avoid looking at the tiny numbers in the bottom, right side of her desktop indicating the time. More specifically, how much time she has left to wait until she can see Waverly again. The officer involuntarily smiles as her thoughts return to the young teacher, just as they had every few minutes since she walked away after the lunch bell rang. She shakes her head and laughs at herself when she realizes her attempt to focus has failed once again. 

The officer releases a deep sigh and closes her laptop as she hears the bell ring overhead, signally another class change. “Thank God!” she exclaims and races for the door, where she grabs her Stetson off its hook and consciously attempts to curb her excitement. She places the hat firmly on her head, locks her office door, and begins the short trek to the History hallway, trying her best not to speed walk the whole way there.

*****

Waverly taps her short fingernails on the surface of her desk in rapid succession. She’s trying hard to focus on grading the assignment in front of her, but gives up when she realizes she’s read the same sentence four times and still has no idea what it says. She shifts her attention to her students and does a quick survey of the room. All of them are working on today’s classwork and none appear to be struggling or looking for help, so she has no reason to get up for now. 

Accepting that grading will have to wait, the young teacher allows her mind to wander back to a few hours before. She feels her face heating up as she thinks about the officer’s show of strength when she lifted Waverly off the ground and pushed her back against the wall. With Champ, and other guys she’d dated in the past, she always felt moves like that were an attempt at dominance and she didn’t really appreciate it. With Nicole, it was different. It felt like the redhead just wanted to be closer to her and couldn’t help herself. Waverly blushed even harder when she thought about how much that means Nicole must want her and judging by the teacher’s flaming cheeks yeah, it was definitely mutual.   
Waverly rubs a quick hand across her face, trying to erase the grin she can’t quite hide and cool off her burning skin. She shakes her head, mentally berating herself for having such impure thoughts with students in the room and attempts to get back to work. Thankfully, the students start packing up, indicating the bell is going to ring soon and Waverly is super grateful when it finally does. She walks to the front of the room, reminds everyone that they can turn in the classwork if it’s finished or take it home to complete this evening, and holds the door open allowing the students to exit into the rushing bodies in the hallway.

As the brunette closes the door after the last student leaves, she heaves a sigh of relief. _Ahhh planning period, how I love you and your peaceful quiet time_ , she thinks to herself. When the door opens again, Waverly resists the urge to cringe and tries to control her features before turning around so whomever is interrupting her few minutes of solitude will not be offended, but she doesn’t get the chance. Strong, slender arms circle the teacher’s waist as she feels warm breath tickling her ear. “I have not stopped thinking about you all day. Do you have any idea the effect you have on me, Miss Earp?”

Butterflies erupt low in Waverly’s stomach from the combination of Nicole’s words and embrace. She’s tempted to make a sarcastic retort, but finds her mouth inexplicably dry, so she simply shakes her head. 

“Well, allow me to show you.” With that, Nicole gently spins Waverly around and presses her back against the wall where she immediately attaches their lips in a deep, slow kiss. Her right hand gently holds on to Waverly’s left hip, pressing her into the bricks at her back while her left hand is holding her hat and supporting her weight against the wall above Waverly’s right shoulder to keep her from crushing her whole body against the teacher’s. Waverly’s hands find their way to Nicole’s hips and try to pull her closer, but she resists. This isn’t like earlier, possessive and heated. This is sweet, slow, and full of words neither of the women is ready to say. 

Nicole playfully grabs Waverly’s bottom lip between her teeth and pulls lightly, then follows it with a gentle swipe of her tongue to sooth the residual sting. “ _That_ was for leaving me all alone and very worked up after lunch,” the officer whispers against the teacher’s lips. “And, _this_ -” Nicole kisses her again long, slow and deep. “-is me apologizing for being a jealous asshole this morning.” With one more, quick peck to the teacher’s lips, Nicole reluctantly pushes away from the wall, leaving a still somewhat dazed Waverly staring back at her. 

“So… you wanted to talk?” Nicole reminds the brunette.

Waverly regains her bearings and replies, “Yeah. Umm, don’t you think we should?” She looks uncertainly at the officer, still feeling very foggy and unfocused from their impromptu make out session. “What exactly are we doing here, Nicole?”

“I think-” The officer stops when she hears her radio crackle to life on her shoulder. 

“Officer Haught,” both women hear Wynonna say. “Will you please come to the Dean’s office?”

“Waves, I’m sorry… Can we continue this later?” Nicole asks sweetly.

“Yeah, of course.” Waverly says sadly with a shrug of her shoulders. “Duty calls.” 

Nicole leans in again, drops a brief kiss to the teacher’s cheek and presses the button on her radio, letting Wynonna know she’s on the way. “I’ll swing by after school, ok?” she whispers to Waverly, who nods. With that, the officer is out the door again, adjusting her hat back into place as she makes her way down the corridor.

Waverly leans against her open door frame for a moment watching the officer leave. She pulls her bottom lip into her mouth and bites down on it to keep her from asking Nicole not to go. Remembering where she is, the teacher stands up straight and begins heading back into her classroom. Just before she closes the door, she happens to glance down the hallway and cocks her head in confusion at the site of a one of her students glaring daggers at Nicole’s back. Waverly watches the girl for a moment longer, feeling an eerie tingle race down her spine as the girl turns her angry gaze and locks eyes with the teacher before turning and walking away. _What the hell was that?_


	14. Talk to Me

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Anyone out there still sticking with this story? I'd love to hear from you!

When the final bell rings, Waverly lets out a deep sigh of relief and holds the door as her students exit for the last time that day. Truth be told, she’s barely accomplished anything at all due to the mixture of daydreaming and anxious anticipation about her talk with Nicole. It’s a good thing high schoolers are mostly self-sufficient, because there was very little instruction happening in Miss Earp’s classroom that day. Waverly feels guilty about that, so after a quick survey of the emptying hallway, she locks her door and heads back to her desk to get some work done.

About fifteen minutes into grading last week’s quizzes, Waverly hears a knock on her door and feels her heart skip a beat, hoping it’s her tall, not-so-dark, but definitely handsome officer. She’s mildly disappointed to find it’s not Nicole at her door, but rather Nate, the boy from the fight last week standing outside her classroom. She opens the door cautiously and peers questioningly at the boy.

“Hi, Miss Earp.” Nate brushes his shaggy blonde hair away from his forehead and speaks politely. “I’m sorry to bother you, but I’m looking for Mrs. Snider. Have you seen her, by chance?”

Before Waverly can answer, she hears heavy boots stomping down the hall and an authoritative voice asks, “What are you doing here, Nate? You’re suspended. That means you cannot be anywhere on school grounds until your suspension is completed.” Waverly looks up into the very intimidating glare of a very serious Officer Haught and she’s glad she’s not on the receiving end of that look.

“Hi, Officer Haught.” Now, the boy definitely appears a bit more nervous. He’s a pretty big kid, but let’s face it. Something about the uniform, the intimidating stance, and oh yeah… the fact that she has a gun, always makes kids squirm. 

“I’m not trying to cause any trouble. I was just asking Miss Earp here if she’s seen my teacher. I’m trying to keep my grades up and didn’t want to get too far behind during my suspension, so Mrs. Snider said I could come by this afternoon once everyone was gone to pick up my assignments.”

Nicole stares the boy down for another long second, trying to assess whether or not he was telling the truth. She takes a cursory glance around the hallway and notes a few students still meandering by lockers and coming out of classrooms, but does not see the history teacher in question. The officer softens a little before speaking again. “Alright. Well, while you’re here, I never got the chance to thank you.”

“Thank me?” he questions and Waverly watches the exchange curiously.

“Yeah. I didn’t even see Brody coming for you on Friday, but you jumped between him and me before he had a chance to push me out of the way. I really appreciate that and I want you to know I let Dean Dolls know what happened which is why you only got a three day suspension, while Brody has ten. You weren’t instigating, you just defended me and then yourself.”

Nate rubs his hand on the back of his neck bashfully, like he’s not used to being thanked or even complimented. “Oh yeah… sure. No problem.”

Nicole realizes that even though she escorted the boy to his classes Friday, she really didn’t speak to him much and isn’t sure why the boys were even fighting. “Hey, what was all of that about, anyway?”

The boy looks down at the ground and scuffs his foot, seeming to weigh what and how much he wants to say. Coming to a decision, he answers the officer’s question. “Brody and some other boys have been harassing my little sister. She’s a freshman this year and I try to look out for her, but I can’t be by her side all day, you know? Last week, I finally told him to cut it out- or else. And well, you see where that led.” 

The officer reaches out and places a gentle hand on Nate’s shoulder, which he instinctively flinches away from. _Woah. I’m not gonna hit… ohhhh_. The boy looks down at his shoes again and says in a very tiny voice. “My old man used to knock my mom and me around when I was a kid, but I always protected my sister. He’s long gone now and he never laid a hand on her. So, I sure as hell am not gonna let some guy at school make her feel unsafe after all these years, either. I had to protect her, you know? Just like I always have.” He looks up hopefully with bug, vulnerable eyes and Waverly’s heart breaks a little bit, listening to the boy’s story. She knows Nicole probably feels the same way. 

Nicole’s voice is filled with pride as she speaks again. “Nathaniel, look at me.” You always know it’s serious when someone uses your full name, so Nate looks at her. “Violence is most definitely not the answer, bud. I am sorry to hear about your dad, but I’m glad to know he’s not around to hurt you anymore. And, I want you to know I’m proud of you. Protecting your sister is very honorable and I think you’re going to become a fine man someday. Just... try to stay out of trouble in the meantime, ok?” She holds her hand out to shake.

Nate blushes a little bit at the officer’s words, but stands up a little straighter and shakes the officer’s hand. “Uhm. Thank you, Officer Haught. I’m going to try.” He looks around the hallway again and sees that his teacher is still nowhere in sight. “I think maybe Mrs. Snider forgot I was coming by today. I better head home and maybe try again tomorrow. Sorry to have bothered you, Miss Earp.” With that, the boy leaves the two women alone again, both lost in thoughts in their own heads about the young man and everything he’s just told them. Neither one sees the girl putting books in her locker that is now staring at them, glaring angrily once again at Officer Haught.

*****

 _Well, that was… intense._ Waverly thinks about the scene she just witnessed. He heart definitely went out to the young man, but she could barely contain the overwhelming pride she felt at the way Nicole handled the situation. It’s plainly obvious she cares about the students and is trying to teach them to do the right thing.

Speaking of tall and gorgeous… Waverly can’t contain her face-splitting grin when the object of her thoughts turns to finally greet her in the doorway. “Miss Earp,” Nicole politely tips her hat and Waverly swoons.

“Officer Haught,” Waverly plays along, feeling the mood lightening immediately. “Would you like to come in?”

“Why, I thought you’d never ask,” Nicole replies with a wink as she removes her Stetson and makes her way into the classroom. 

Once inside, Nicole turns to face Waverly, hoping to pick up where they left off twice so far today, but finds a small, firm hand pressing against her upper chest. “Don’t even think about it, Officer,” Waverly says with one finely arched eyebrow raised. “I’m not letting you distract me this time. We need to talk.”

“Well, that sounds ominous and way less fun than what I had in mind,” Nicole grumbles. She sets her hat down, plops herself in a student desk and kicks her feet up into the chair across from her, crossing her arms with a slight pout. 

Waverly can’t resist the kicked puppy expression, so she leans over and places a gentle, chaste kiss on the officer’s pouty lips, before brushing past her and sitting behind her desk, knowing they could use a physical barrier between them to keep them focused on the conversation at hand. Nicole smiles at the contact and uncrosses her arms, feeling like maybe this won’t be so bad, after all.

“All right, I’m here and I’m behaving. What would you like to talk about?” the redhead inquires.

Waverly has imagined this moment what feels like a hundred times today, trying to plan through all of the possible scenarios to make sure she’s prepared for the outcome. However, now that she’s in the moment, words seem to be failing her. She takes a deep breath and tries to start this ball rolling, hoping the words will come as the conversation proceeds.

“This morning,” she states, “what you saw in the breakroom was Champ genuinely apologizing for being a jerk the other night. I know this may be hard to believe, but underneath all of the arrogant bravado, there is a decent guy that shows up every now and then. Granted, it’s not often enough, but… you get my point. That’s all it was, though. Nothing more.”

Nicole sighs and chews on her bottom lip. She takes her feet off of the chair and leans over to rest her weight on her arms on the teacher’s desk before speaking sincerely. “I screwed up this morning, Waverly, and I’m sorry. I have fallen for so-called ‘straight’ women in the past and suffice to say, it did not end well for me. Still, that’s no excuse for my actions. I should have talked to you about what I was feeling, instead of just reacting and giving you the silent treatment. I’m sorry.” 

Waverly reaches across her desk and wraps a hand around Nicole’s forearm, causing the redhead to look up and meet her eyes. “Okay. You’re forgiven.” She rubs her thumb soothingly over the officer’s arm.

“That’s it? Really?” Nicole questions.

Waverly giggles at Nicole’s flabbergasted expression before continuing. “Yeah. That’s it. No, I did not appreciate the radio silence, especially when I didn’t know why I was receiving it. But, I told you how I feel about you. So maybe I’ve never been attracted to a woman before. That doesn’t mean what I’m feeling isn’t real. I’m crazy about you. I just… need you to talk to me when you’re upset. And more importantly right now, I need to know where you stand with all of this.” She gestures between the two of them.

Nicole melts at the brunette’s sweet confession and realizes she’s never actually told the other girl how she feels. No wonder she’s confused. It was definitely time to come clean, so to speak. “I remember the exact moment I met you. Sure, Wynonna had told me about her amazing little sister that she’s incredibly proud of and I’d heard stories about you and your family from people around town. But, nothing prepared me for the real deal. When you walked into the faculty meeting that first day, I forgot how to breathe. I know exactly what you were wearing. I know exactly what your first words to me were the first time we spoke. And, I know exactly the moment I decided that even if I never received the opportunity to be with you romantically, I would find a way to make sure you were in my life.” Nicole glances up and finds Waverly’s eyes swimming with unshed tears, but she’s not finished. “Waves, I don’t know what I did right in this life to make me deserve a chance to be with you, but I’ll take it. I want to take you out to candlelit dinners in sexy black dresses and make you feel like the most important person in the world. Because to me, you kind of are.” 

At some point during her heartfelt speech, she felt Waverly’s touch leave her arm and knew she had moved around the desk to sit in the seat beside her. Now, she feels more than sees the woman leaning toward her and instinctively leaned in, as well, to accept the soft lips seeking her own. Waverly pulls the officer toward her with a hand around the back of her neck and tries to pour every ounce of feeling she can into the kiss. No one had ever poured their heart out to her the way Nicole Haught just had, and she knows without a doubt that she could easily fall for this woman. Hell, she already is.

When they pull apart, both women look deeply into the other’s eyes trying to convey everything left they weren’t able to put into words today. Waverly breaks the silence first. “I would love to go out to a candlelit dinner with you in a sexy black dress.”

“Well, that can be arranged.” The officer’s flirty confidence is back and her face lights up with a mega-watt, dimpled smile. “How ‘bout Friday night?”

Waverly is about to answer when Nicole's radio squawks to life. “Officer Haught, please come to the bus loop.” Both women groan at being interrupted _again_ today, but understand the pressures of Nicole’s job.

“Go,” Waverly says quietly. 

Nicole looks at the smaller woman uncertainly, then nods. She doesn’t say anything, just grabs her hat and is almost out the door when Waverly calls for her attention one more time.

“Hey, Nic?” The redhead turns to face her again. “Friday night sounds amazing.”


	15. Instigations

Sarah’s blood boils as she watches the young, redheaded officer leaving her teacher’s classroom for the second time that day, practically skipping down the hallway without a care in the world- the very same hallway her boyfriend will never walk through again, thanks to Officer Haught. Brody’s ten-day suspension ensured that he would fail the semester due to absences, so his parents shipped him off to some strict military school to complete his Senior year. For Sarah, that meant no Prom date, no roller coaster buddy for Grad Bash, and basically a giant absence in her life for the rest of this year. _He wasn’t even allowed to bring his cell phone wherever they sent him! I haven’t spoken to him in days… and who knows when I ever will again?_ she thinks angrily. 

To top it all off, Sarah had witnessed Officer Haught being awfully chummy with that asshole, Nate, who got Brody in trouble to begin with. She should have known that blonde hothead had an Ace up his sleeve when she heard he only received a three-day suspension, while Brody got ten. Now, she knows that Ace was definitely their trusty School Resource Officer, and she was going to do something about it. 

As she slams her locker door shut and spins the dial on her lock, she feels the wheels in her head start spinning, too. _Think. What can we do to wipe that dimpled grin off of Officer Haught-mess? Hmmmmm._ The girl’s eyes sweep through the now empty hallway and back again, finally landing on the door Nicole just came out of. _Came **out** of…. Oooh, how fitting._ Sarah laughs to herself as she feels a plan formulating in her mind. She really has nothing to base these thoughts on, other than the fact that Nicole is a strong, female cop, and stereotypes exist for a reason, but she realizes she doesn’t actually need the stereotype to be true for this to work.

There’s a small moment of hesitation. Sarah actually likes Miss Earp and feels a tiny bit guilty for what she’s about to do. _Nah. Can’t think like that. You chose the wrong friend, Miss Earp. Sorry you’re going to get dragged into this with her. Better luck next time._

*****

Waverly has just sat down at her desk again when there’s yet another knock on her door. _Seriously? These quizzes will never get graded at this rate._ Still, she hurries to open her classroom, hoping Nicole is back, but feeling like that is unlikely, since she just left. 

“Sarah,” Waverly greets her student with a question. “What’s up, kiddo? I thought you guys were all long gone by now.”

The young girl throws her long blonde hair over her shoulder and walks into the room like she owns the place, but doesn’t answer her teacher’s question. This is not the time for familiar rapport and casual conversation. She’s on a mission.

Sarah trails her fingers along a desk absently as she throws out her first verbal punch. “Why Miss Earp, I didn’t know you were a… gay.” The student glances over her shoulder with an arrogantly raised eyebrow, searching her teacher’s face for a reaction. She watches the color drain from Waverly’s face and hears a strange gurgling sound like the older woman had something caught in her throat. _How interesting._

“Excuse me?” Waverly says in a choked whisper.

“Oh, you can deny it all you like,” Sarah continues. “But, those heart eyes you’ve been batting at our dear Officer of the Peace say otherwise.” The girl is still fishing and trying to push buttons, but her teacher’s reaction so far has been more than she could’ve hoped for. She’s playing right into the trap Sarah is skillfully setting.

Beginning to regain her bearings, Waverly clears her throat and grinds out through gritted teeth, “You are out of line, Sarah. My love life, whether real or imagined in your mind, is absolutely none of your business. Now, did you come to speak to me for an academic reason, or are we done here?” Sarah sees the firm stance her teacher has taken. The rigid spine, tense muscles and hands balled into fists on her hips let her know she won’t get much more out of the older woman today, so she concedes.

“No, ma’am.” Waverly feels like she’s been slapped by the sugary sweet, innocent, and obviously fake tone coming from her student. “That will be all… for now.” Waverly feels a sinister, sick feeling in her gut that it’s a promise. “Enjoy the rest of your afternoon.”

The teacher doesn’t respond as Sarah deftly moves around her and is out the door before she has a chance to say another word. Waverly feels her muscles begin to quiver with how tightly she’s flexing all of them. She expels a deep sigh as her knees give out and she plops ungracefully into the student desk beside her where she sits with her head in her hands and a nauseated feeling in her stomach.

*****

 _Okay, Monday. You win._ Waverly stands on shaky legs and rushes to her desk to shut down her computer and retrieve her belongings. She’s on her way out of the building, trying to escape any other crazy curveballs this day may try to throw at her and has just made it to the edge of the parking lot when she runs, quite literally, into Nicole.

“Woah. Where’s the fire?” Nicole jokes as she gently grasps Waverly’s arms to steady her. Waverly doesn’t respond, but the officer shrugs it off and starts happily talking again. “Sorry about getting interrupted before. Where were we? Candles, black dress…- something’s wrong.” Nicole cuts herself off and the smile falls from her face. She notices that Waverly won’t meet her eyes and practically forces the redhead’s hands off of her arms as the smaller woman steps back like she can’t wait to get away from her. “Waves, you’re trembling. What the hell is going on? Talk to me; you’re kinda freaking me out here.” She reaches out to touch Waverly’s face, but the teacher jerks away from her touch again and Nicole sucks in a quick breath through her teeth at the rejection.

“I-I thought I could do this, but…but, I can’t. I’m sorry Nicole. I have to go.” Waverly pushes past Nicole and speed walks through the parking lot to her jeep, climbing in and speeding off through blurry eyes, hoping the officer can’t see the tears streaming down her face.

“Bu-… wha-… uh….” Words fail her as Nicole watches Waverly race away from her and off campus. She absentmindedly fidgets with her hat in her hands as she slowly treks to her cruiser and starts the engine. Only, she doesn’t go anywhere right away. She just sits there, staring blankly at the freshly falling snow wondering what the hell is going on.

Across the parking lot, Wynonna sits in her own vehicle where she’s just witnessed the exchange between her sister and her friend. She has no idea what was said, but she saw Waverly tear out of there like a bat outta hell and can see Nicole sitting in her cruiser staring into space now. She shakes her head and sighs. _Man, I thought they got their shit worked out. They have such a weird friendship._ she thinks to herself before putting the truck in gear and heading home.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry...Can't have sunshine and butterflies all the time, right?


	16. If I pretend it's not there, maybe it will go away

**Bzzzzzzzz bzzzzzzzzzzz**

The phone on Waverly’s nightstand vibrates again and lights up her bedroom with an incoming text message she assumes is from Nicole- again. She turns her back to the offending bright light and stares out the window at the dark, stormy sky currently mirroring her mood. Her eyes are swollen and crusty from hours of crying and lack of sleep. Her throat is raw and her whole body just… hurts. With a deep sigh, she blindly reaches a hand back to grab the small device. She clears out the notifications without even attempting to read any of them, types a quick email, then turns it off altogether. Pulling her comforter over her head, she settles in and tries again to sleep.

*****

Splashing cold water on her face does little to help wake Nicole up. Dark circles ring her usually bright brown eyes, indicating that coffee will be her best friend today. She checks the time on her cell phone and sees that her calls and texts have still gone unanswered by the beautiful brunette. 

The officer had spent the previous evening wracking her brain and pacing a hole in her living room floor trying to figure out what happened yesterday. One minute, she was pouring her heart out to the young teacher, saying all of the things she’d been wanting to say for so long. Waverly was happy if the kiss she received after her confession was any indication. They started planning their first date, then Nicole got called away. The next thing she knew, Waverly was blowing her off and saying she couldn’t do this. _So, what happened in the short amount of time I was away?_ Nicole ponders for what seems like the hundredth time. _Did I come on too strong?_ The officer can feel herself falling into the cycle she’d been repeating all night, so she cuts off her own train of thoughts and forces herself to go get prepared for the day.

*****

During the drive to school, Nicole pep talks herself into believing she’s done nothing wrong to warrant Waverly’s lack of response to her messages and that she deserves an explanation. She begins her search for the brunette in the front office, wanders through the teacher’s lounge, and finally over to the younger woman’s classroom where she takes a steadying deep breath and knocks on the door. When a gentleman she doesn’t recognize answers the door, Nicole is thrown for a loop and takes a moment to find her words.

“Yes? May I help you, Officer?” The man seems nice enough, but what the hell is he doing in Waverly’s classroom and where in the world is she, anyway?

Nicole picks through all of her jumbled thoughts and blurts out, “You’re not Waverly.”

The man chuckles and says, “No, ma’am. I am not. Sorry to disappoint you, but Miss Earp emailed Principal Nedley this morning saying she was a bit under the weather, so he called and asked me to cover her classes. Is there anything I can do for you?”

“Uh… No. No, thank you. Enjoy your day.” Nicole tries to smile as she awkwardly waves and walks away, though she’s pretty sure it’s more of a grimace. She feels her spirits sink into her boots while she scrubs a hand down her face and takes off in search of the only other person she can think of that might be able to help her right now.

*****

Nicole finds Wynonna nursing a very large, steaming mug of coffee in the Dean’s office and decides to get straight to the point.

“Hey Wynonna, did you see Waverly this morning?”

“Nope,” the Dean answers with a little pop on the ‘p’. “Didn’t go home last night. I was with Xa- you know what? That’s not important. What’s up?” She looks a little closer at the redhead and realizes something is definitely wrong. “You’re not looking so good, Haughtstuff. You feelin ok? These kids are like walking germ transporters, I swear. Maybe you should go home.”

Nicole tunes Wynonna out once she says she wasn’t home last night and gets lost in her thoughts, again. _She won’t answer my calls or texts and now, she’s not here. Is she avoiding me? What did I do…? And, what am I going to do now?_ She realizes with a jolt that Wynonna has stopped talking and is looking at her with concern. “Uhhh, yeah. I’m gonna go… check on some things in my office. I’ll see ya, Earp.”

Wynonna takes another sip of her coffee and shrugs off Nicole’s strange behavior. “Fucking germ-infested kids,” she mumbles under her breath.

*****

The day drags on as Waverly watches the blades on her fan endlessly circle, making shadows dance across the ceiling in a steady rhythm. Her thoughts battle for dominance as she thinks over the situation she’s somehow found herself in. She’s gotten really good at being alone over the years. After her mom left and her dad died, it was just Wynonna and her against the world. So, really, she shouldn’t be surprised that she’s found herself alone once again. She just doesn’t remember it ever feeling like this before. Flashes of batting eyelashes, blushing cheeks and dimpled grins invade her conscience and she forces them away like she’s done so many other times today. “I miss you so much, already,” she mumbles into the pillow that’s crushed to her chest as she succumbs to the tears again.

*****

The sound of footsteps pounding up the stairs stirs Waverly from her fitful sleep. _Wynonna never has been very graceful,_ the younger girl thinks as her sister loudly enters the room.

“Oh, good. You’re awake. Hey, your phone must have died while you were sleeping. I tried to call from school, but it went straight to voicemail every time. Nedley told me you called in, so I got home as soon as I could. You ok, Babygirl?” Waverly’s heart swells at the obvious concern from her sister, mixed with the endearment she’s used since they were kids.

“Yeah just feeling a bit under the weather today.” It’s not exactly a lie. She may not be sick, but she’s definitely never felt like this before.

“Huh. Officer Haughty was looking pretty rough today, too. Must be something going around… fucking kids,” she says distractedly. “Anyway, I picked up some soup and spicy noodles from the Chinese place on my way home. Try to eat somethin, even if you don’t want to. It’ll help fight whatever ails ya,” she throws out with a playful wink. Waverly rolls her eyes and thinks no amount of greasy Chinese in the world could fight the ailment of a broken heart. Still, it was sweet of her sister to try, so she tries to be grateful.

“Thanks, Wyn. I’ll give it a shot.”

“Ok, I’ll uh… leave ya to it. Holler if you need anything.” She kisses her little sister’s forehead just like when they were young and leaves Waverly to her peace. If only she knew the peace allows the voices in the younger woman’s head to scream that much louder.

*****

A little while later, Waverly hears the doorbell ring and hushed voices travel up the stairs. She peeks out of her bedroom window to see Nicole’s cruiser sitting in the driveway. 

_Of course, she won’t let it go. That would just be too easy. I guess I’ll have to face her eventually, but… not today._ Crawling back into bed and pulling the covers up to her chin, she takes a deep breath and makes no effort to fight off the tears she knows are coming.

*****

“Sorry, Red-Haught. Waves isn’t up for company tonight.”

“Please, Wynonna? I just need five minutes.” Nicole pleads, but can see the stubborn woman is not going to budge on this. She fiddles with the hat in her hands, looking for any way to calm her frayed nerves.

“No can do, Amiga. She’s sleeping off this crazy bug, which might I add, you should probably be doing, too. You still don’t look so good, dude.” Wynonna feels a little bit bad about denying the officer a chance to talk to Waverly. After all, she knows things were left weird between them yesterday in the parking lot, but whatever spat they’ve gotten into is just going to have to wait another day. “Listen… try giving her a call in a little while. If she’s awake, maybe she’ll answer.”

Nicole knows that’s the best she’s going to get from the eldest Earp, so she says her goodbyes and heads back home. She glances up in time to see the curtains shift just a little as she backs her cruiser away from the homestead and is tempted to march back up the steps demand to speak with the woman behind them. But, she looks dejectedly at her cell phone where her calls and texts still remain ignored, wipes a few stray tears from her cheeks and drives away into the night.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Even in sad times, I love me some Wynonna and Nicole bromance mixed with bad Haught puns.


	17. Avoidance only lasts so long

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Every time I think I have a handle on this story, it takes off again. We're 17 chapters in and I'm pretty sure there will still be quite a few more before the end of this. Should be able to knock out another one tonight to get this plot moving along.

The next day is Wednesday and Waverly knows she can’t play hooky again because she has a department meeting with the other History teachers that she has to attend. Besides, she figures she probably can’t just blow off the rest of the school year in order to avoid Nicole. No, she’ll definitely have to talk to her soon and- Waverly’s thoughts are cut off abruptly as she notices the object of her musings leaning on the wall outside the conference room waiting for her meeting to adjourn. The window pane is partially blocking her view, but she can see the long, lean frame in its signature stance with a bent knee and one booted foot propped on the wall. _God, that’s sexy._ The officer is idly fidgeting with her white cowboy hat and staring at the ground, but Waverly can see the dark circles the woman is sporting from here. Her heart breaks a little more knowing she’s the reason Nicole has obviously not been sleeping well. _Heh. Join the club._

Around her, the other teachers begin gathering their things. Waverly must have zoned out and missed the closing comments of the meeting. Whoops. Gathering all of the courage she can into her tiny frame, she sucks in a deep breath and trudges out the door to face the music. 

For once, luck seems to be on her side as she hears someone approach Nicole ahead of her. “Oh, Officer Haught, I’m glad to see you. I wanted to ask you about…” The woman’s voice fades away as Waverly skirts around the two women and practically runs from the front office, thankful she can put this confrontation off just a little while longer.

*****

Lost in her own world, Nicole barely registers the click of the conference room door until it’s swinging out toward her and there’s a small line of teachers exiting the room. She searches the faces as they pass somehow hoping and yet dreading to see the one she’s missed the most in the last almost 36 hours. Not that she’s counting, but… you know.  
When their eyes finally meet, Nicole feels the breath leave her lungs in a swift whoosh of air like she’s been kicked in the gut. She opens her mouth to say something, anything to the beautiful woman that haunts her dreams. But, before she can utter a single word, Mrs. Hampton has latched onto her arm and is rattling on about something to do with getting more handicap spots in the teacher parking lot so the older teachers won’t have to walk so far to their classrooms. Nicole has never been anything other than a polite professional, but really, lady? Now is not. the. time. 

“Mrs. Hampton,” Nicole interrupts the woman with her hands held up in front of her in a universal sign for ‘simmer down’. “I will be glad to look into that for you. But, if you will please excuse me, I have urgent business I need to attend to right now.” The redhead races out of the office in search of long, brown locks, leaving a sputtering older woman in her wake.

*****

“Waverly!”

As much as she doesn’t want it to, the sound of _that_ voice calling her name stops her in her tracks. She slowly turns to face the anxious officer speed-walking toward her, but can’t maintain eye contact, so she finds herself staring at the ground like a child waiting to be reprimanded.

“Uhmm hi.”

Waverly feels her face scrunch up in reaction to the officer’s odd greeting. _”Uhmm hi.” Really, Nicole?_ Instead of responding, she raises one perfectly shaped eyebrow.  
The officer must be able to read the expression on Waverly’s face because she groans out loud and tries to start again. “Okay, definitely not what I intended to say when I finally spoke to you again,” Nicole mumbles.

Her face flushes with embarrassment and it takes every ounce of willpower Waverly has to not reach up and kiss one of the redhead’s crimson cheeks. _This would be so much easier if she wasn’t so absolutely adorable,_ Waverly thinks as she melts a little. She feels herself grinning despite herself and is about to say or do something royally stupid when she remembers they’re in the middle of the Commons and everyone can see them.

The young teacher straightens her spine, schools her features into an emotionless mask and asks, “Officer Haught, did you need something?”

 _Officer Haught? Why so professional?_ Nicole is hurt by the formality, but presses on. “Waves, I just… I needed to see you. Why have you been avoiding me? Please tell me what I’ve done so I can apologize and fix it,” she pleads.

Waverly immediately grimaces and glances around when Nicole starts speaking so openly out here where anyone can hear them. “I told you,” she whispers so softly that the redhead almost has to lean forward to hear her. “I can’t do this. I’m sorry. Please respect that.”

The officer notices the younger woman’s odd body language. Her eyes are darting around as if searching for something… or maybe someone. _It’s like she’s worried someone will see us together._ That’s when it hits her like a ton of bricks. _Holy shit. She doesn’t want to be seen with me. It’s like she’s… ashamed of me._ Oh, wow. It makes perfect sense now. Every encounter they’ve had so far has been behind closed doors, aside from dancing in the bar and well, there was alcohol involved with that. Nicole feels her bottom lip tremble as she struggles to keep it together. _I thought she was different. How could I have been stupid enough to fall for a straight woman again? They’re all the same._

Waverly watches an array of emotion dance across Nicole’s beautiful face, beginning with confusion, to something like disappointment, and through a few more before landing on the expression she’s wearing now which the young teacher hates seeing directed at her. It feels like the officer’s coffee brown eyes are twin lasers boring holes into Waverly’s skin and her full pink lips are turned down in pure disgust.

Nicole’s voice trembles, but she manages to get her point across anyway. “No problem, Miss Earp. I’m sorry to have bothered you. You won’t have to worry about a local ‘Flat-foot’ like me wasting your time anymore.” Then, she spins swiftly on her heel and marches off angrily toward her office, never looking back to see the utter horror on Waverly’s face.

Waverly quickly picks her jaw up off the ground and glances around again. She has the distinct feeling of someone watching her. When she catches Sarah intently observing the interaction from the other side of the Commons, the teacher feels a chill race down her spine and hurries to get to the safety of her classroom. Something about that kid just gives her the heebie jeebies.


	18. Not so idle threats

Slamming the door to her office may be immature, but Nicole doesn’t care about that right now. She’s fuming. Of all the nerve… she’s worked damn hard to get where she is and she’s never going to let anyone make her feel anything other than proud of the career she’s chosen. She pauses her pacing. 

_Or maybe it’s not about my job… maybe it’s because I’m a girl?_ The officer takes a moment to ponder this new angle. _Pretty sure she knew I was a girl when she had her tongue shoved down my throat and her legs wrapped around my hips._ The barrage of mental images that conjures up has Nicole audibly groaning and she plops into the swiveling chair behind her desk where she props her elbows and drops her head in her hands. She’s still sitting there kicking herself for allowing the memories of those amazing kisses to flood through her mind when her office door opens and a young girl walks in.

“Long night, Officer Haught? You’re looking a little… rough.” The girl smirks as she stands with her hands on hips in a position of power. “You should really save your partying for the weekends.”

_The fuck?_ Nicole is shocked by the audacity of this student that she vaguely recognizes, but can’t put a name on. Her body snaps to attention with her back ramrod straight and clasps her hands in front of her. She just barely manages not to cross her arms in a defensive posture, but can’t help the one red eyebrow that creeps up to meet her hairline. “Can I help you, Miss…?”

“Kennedy” the girl states firmly. “Sarah Kennedy.” She doesn’t offer anything more, so Nicole repeats, “What can I do for you, Miss Kennedy?” The officer is trying to stay professional, but something about this kid is rubbing her wrong and after the morning she’s had, she’s really not in the mood for some snobby rich kid from the Kennedy family pushing her buttons.

“I noticed you sharing what seemed to be a rather…intense… conversation with Miss Earp this morning. What happened? Lover’s spat?” She pauses to check the officer’s face for a reaction, but Nicole immediately adopts an emotionless mask at the mention of Waverly’s name. “You know, a small town like this wouldn’t take too kindly to knowing Purgatory High has not just one, but two sick individuals working with their children. Wouldn’t want you to… _influence_ us in any way, now would we?” The word influence is dripping with venom and Nicole is quickly beginning to understand exactly where this little chat is going. Now, she just needs to figure out why.

The officer takes a deep breath and tries to put an end to this conversation before it gets any further. “I’m going to stop you right there. I am no in any way admitting your little theory is correct, but I want to make something very clear. Gay people exist. Get over it. And, for the love of God, learn the difference. Gay people are not ‘sick’ and they are not a danger to young people. Loving someone of the same gender does not equate to being a pedophile.” 

Sarah’s face morphs into a twisted grin. “Good luck convincing the School Board of that.”

“Okay look. You obviously came in here for a reason. So, as much as I’m enjoying this lovely banter, why don’t you go ahead and skip to the point?” Nicole can feel her control slipping and as much as she would love to, she really cannot afford to unleash the rage inside of her on this little shit. _I can’t believe the nerve of this kid. Is she seriously threatening me right now?_

“I’m so glad you asked!” And, she honestly looks genuinely happy which throws Nicole for a loop. Sarah leans forward and looks around conspiratorially, as if she doesn’t know the office is completely empty aside from the two of them. She lowers her voice to add to the drama of the moment. “You took away the love of my life and ruined my Senior year. So, I’m going to ruin your career.” Then, she crosses her arms as a wide grin breaks across her face like she’s quite proud of herself. “Oh, and did I mention? I’m going to bring down your little girlfriend, too.” Nicole’s face drains of color and Sarah knows she’s got her now. She still has no confirmation either woman is gay or that they’re together, but she realizes she doesn’t need it. If the officer’s reaction is anything to go by, she’s hit her mark right in the bullseye. Her voice returns to normal volume as she finishes her speech. “Pity. I kind of like Miss Earp, but she really should have thought twice before befriending a two-faced bitch like you.” 

Having said her piece, Sarah turns on her heal and is almost out the door when she feels a strong hand grasping her wrist. She looks over her shoulder to find eyes blazing as bright as the officer’s red hair very close to her own and for a second, she’s honestly scared.

“Listen here, you little snot,” Nicole growls through clenched teeth. “I don’t care who you are, who your family is, or what crazy story you’ve concocted in your head about me, but this is between you and me. You leave her out of it!” Nicole can feel her muscles quake with the effort it’s taking to not harm the student in front of her.

Sarah raises an eyebrow and cocks her head at the wrist the older woman is still holding. “Officer Haught, I’m going to highly suggest you unhand me this instant. You’re already in enough trouble without adding assault to your list of problems.”

Nicole immediately releases the girl and stares at her hand as if it belongs to someone else. She’s never touched a student forcefully unless she was restraining them in a fight and it freaks her out that she almost lost control. The woman shakes her head sadly as she feels the fight beginning to drain out of her. “You’re not going to get away with this. I am an officer of the law and you’re nothing but a spoiled, rich, BRAT.”

“Maybe so…. But, I always get what I want.” 

When she’s gone, Nicole kicks the leg of the nearest chair and it skitters across the small space. She rakes her fingernails through the top of her hair and leans away from the door. Her back hits the concrete wall and she slides down to the floor where she pulls her knees to her chest and leans her forehead on them, trying to focus on breathing and staying calm. Today is honestly just, **the worst**.


	19. Suspensions aren't just for students

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For Liv.
> 
> Man, y'all are getting spoiled with this many updates in only a few days! ;) Loving the comments. Thank you all so much for continuing on this ride with me!

A few hours later, Principal Nedley pages Nicole and asks her to come to his office. _What now?_ she thinks as she trudges to the front of the school and knocks gently on his door.

Nedley looks up from a stack of paperwork in front of him and gestures for Nicole to come sit at a chair in front of his desk. “Officer Haught, you’ve done a fine job as this school’s Resource Officer and I want you to know I’ve always respected and appreciated your professionalism.” He pauses for a moment to rub his long mustache. “That being said, I just got off the phone with the Superintendent’s Office.” Nicole feels her blood turn to ice. “It seems Joe Kennedy’s been up there hootin and hollerin’ up a storm about how he wants your badge for threatening his kid this morning. You know anything about this?”

“Oh man,” Nicole whispers. _Guess the kid really wasn’t just full of hot air._ She looks at the principal with pleading eyes. “Mr. Nedley, I can explain.”

Nedley holds up a hand. “Actually, don’t. It’s best if we don’t discuss the details here, but listen. This kind of thing can’t just be swept under the rug, Haught. There’s going to have to be an investigation into the allegations….” He continues talking, but Nicole has stopped listening. She’s fighting to keep from hyperventilating, because she knows what happens now. She’ll be put on suspension until the investigation is completed, at which point all of the information will be presented to the School Board, and they will make a decision on how to proceed. She’s seen it happen plenty of times over the years. Unfortunately, more often than not, the School Board rules in favor of the student. All it takes is some parent threatening to call their lawyer and the School Board folds like a cheap stack of cards in a magic show. And a parent as influential in the community as Joe Kennedy? Yeah, she was in deep. 

Nedley seems to be wrapping it up. “…you need to go collect your things from your office. Then, stop by and turn in your gun and badge over at the station. Hang low for a few days and enjoy some uninterrupted peace and quiet. We’ll get this worked out just as quickly as we can.” Nicole appreciates his attempt at reassurance, but she feels sick to her stomach. She stands, shakes his hand, and leaves the room, dragging her feet like a zombie back to her office.

*****

By lunch time, Waverly is a mess. She has given up trying to eat due to the nauseated feeling in her stomach every time she thinks of her conversation with Nicole from this morning, especially the disgusted look on the redhead’s beautiful face… _I’m so sorry, Nicole. I’m sorry I’m not strong enough for you._ She sniffs quietly, wipes at the tear that has escaped her eye and makes a decision. After a brief phone call to arrange a substitute, she’s gathering her things and racing to her Jeep. It may be cowardly to keep running from her problems, but she just absolutely cannot be here any longer today.

*****

There’s a highball glass of whisky sitting beside her on the dining room table, when Nicole hears someone banging on her front door. She changed out of her uniform hours ago and doesn’t feel like she’s presentable for company, but it would be rude not to at least see who it is. The redhead shuffles over to the front of the house and looks through the curtains to see a young man around her age waiting politely for someone to answer. There doesn’t seem to be anyone else around, so she carefully opens the door to see what he wants.

“Are you Officer Nicole Haught?” the man asks. She nods and the man whips out a his cell phone, hitting record and shoving it in her face. “What happened between you and Sarah Kennedy?” 

Taken aback, Nicole mumbles, “I’m sorry, what? Who are you?”

The man tugs out a press I.D. and flashes it at her. “Preston McDonald, Purgatory Post. Is it true that you’re in a relationship with a female teacher at school and that when Miss Kennedy called you out on this relationship, you threatened her to keep her quiet?” 

Nicole’s face has turned into a hardened mask of stone. “No comment,” she says and slams the door in his face. The man is relentless, though. He continues knocking and screaming questions through the door. It’s all Nicole can do to drown him out. Hearing a vehicle motor, she draws the curtains again to peek outside where several news vans are pulling in to her driveway. _Oh, hell no. This is not happening._

The officer grabs her cell phone and clicks on a name in her contact list. When a voice on the other end answers, she says “Hey, Dave. I’ve got some overeager reporters clogging up my driveway. Would you mind sending someone over to keep them in line? I’ll explain later.” She pauses while the man confirms, then says, “Thanks, man. I owe ya one.”  
With that, she trudges up the stairs throws a few things quickly into a duffle bag and is out the back door before anyone is the wiser.

*****

Waverly stirs from her fitful sleep to the sound of footsteps pounding up the stairs seconds before her Wynonna comes bursting into the room. “Dude, I know you’re not feeling well, but you need to call Nicole.” 

The younger woman sits up in bed at the sound of the officer’s name and wonders if Nicole has chosen to confide in her sister about their situation. _She wouldn’t…would she?_

“Okay… why exactly do I need to call Nicole?” she asks with a bit of trepidation in her voice. She hopes Wynonna doesn’t pick up on how she stumbles over the redhead’s name.

Wynonna makes herself at home as she plops dramatically on the end of Waverly’s bed, forcing the smaller girl to pull her knees to her chest to make room. “Because, she’s our friend and she’s in trouble. Duh.” This catches Waverly’s attention and she addresses Wynonna in frightened confusion.

“Wait. What? In trouble? How? With what? With whom?” she rattles on, her nerves getting the best of her.

Wynonna groans. “See? This is why you don’t leave school early. You miss all the gossip from the rumor mill. Just trust me, Baby Girl. She could use a friend right now.” With that, Wynonna pats her sister’s leg gently, then leaves as quickly as she came, only pausing to shout up the stairs, “Goin out. There’s leftover Chinese in the fridge if you’re hungry. Don’t wait up!”

Waverly tugs at the tattered edge of her comforter and chews on her bottom lip, mulling over the encounter with Hurricane Wynonna. _Seriously? How can you come in here and casually hint that Nicole is in some sort of trouble, then leave as if nothing happened?_ “Ugh!” She groans out loud and plops backwards onto her pillows. 

“I told her this morning to more or less stay away from me… I can’t just call her now.” The teacher realizes that talking to herself is not going to garner a response from anyone, but it’s how she works through things. If that makes her a little crazy, so be it. She reaches up and rubs her first finger and thumb along her eyebrows, onto the bridge of her nose, where she can feel a tension headache building. Before she can talk herself out of it, she reaches for her cell phone, types out a quick text and hits send. _There. I’m not completely cold-hearted._ She settles in to wait for the tell-tale blue dots to pop up showing Nicole is typing a reply. The redhead always has her phone, so she doesn’t have to wait long before the message switches from ‘delivered’ to ‘read’. Only, the blue dots never appear. She stares at the phone a few minutes longer, thinks _screw it_ , puts the device back on her nightstand and rolls away from it to finish the nap her sister interrupted. 

*****

Bright light erupts from the passenger seat as Nicole slows to a stop at a red light. She makes sure the pickup is completely stopped before glancing down at the device.

**Waves** : Wynonna said something’s up, but kind of left it at that. Everything ok?

“Hmpf,” Nicole makes an unintelligible noise in response to the text. “No, Waverly. Everything is most definitely not okay.” She turns the device off and throws it into her duffle bag on the floor of the truck. She readjusts her position and rolls through the green light. _Yeah. Getting out of town for a few days is sounding better and better with each passing mile._


	20. Good guys do exist

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Fyi: I changed some wording at the end of the last chapter, because it seemed weird to me. I'm rushing a little bit to get these chapters out to you guys which means mistakes are definitely being made. Whoops.

Thursday morning rolls around bright and clear. Gone are the stormy skies of the day before, making Waverly feel like maybe, just maybe, today won’t completely suck. A quick glance at her cell phone screen where her text to Nicole remains unanswered makes her think, _Then again, maybe not._

Still, she hefts her bag over one shoulder, slams her jeep door and marches into school determined to make it through the end of this week. She can grill Wynonna about her cryptic info and track down Nicole during lunch or planning later.

Making her way into the classroom, Waverly takes a few moments to shuffle through the notes left by her substitute. It’s mostly the usual, “Kids were fine; assignments are in the box…” yada yada. But, something in the post script caught her attention. “I want you to know I tried to keep the kids from gossiping too much. However, from what I gathered, most of them seem to be on your side. Best of luck with the School Board. I hope y’all win.”

Waverly drops into her chair in shock and reads the note again. Then, again one more time to be certain. _Shit shit shit. This is it. Sarah must have told someone about Nicole and me. We’re going to lose our jobs. I mean, I’ve only been here a few months, but Nicole… Oh my goodness, Nicole._ The teacher grabs her keys and races out of the classroom.

*****

Waverly has been frantically pounding on Nicole’s office door for what seems like five minutes straight. She may have even kicked it in frustration at one point, but no one else needs to know about that. She raises her fist to try again, knowing in the back of her mind that the officer is clearly not in there, but needing to work out her emotions somehow.

“She’s not here,” a gruff voice says from down the hall. Principal Nedley makes his way over to the young teacher and speaks quietly, knowing she’s a friend. “The Board put her on a temporary suspension while they investigate the eh…allegations.”

“Allegations? About me?” Waverly hears her voice squeak. She can feel her breath speeding up. “Am I suspended, too? Oh, man. I really like this job. I don’t want to lose it so soon,” she mumbles mostly to herself. Her heart is racing and pounding so loud she can hear it in her own ears, telling her this is about to become a full-blown panic attack.

Nedley recognizes the signs, unlocks Nicole’s office and ushers the young woman inside to a set of chairs, where she puts her head between her knees and focuses on breathing, while he lays a fatherly hand on her shoulder. “Easy there, Earp. No one said anything about suspending you or anyone losing their jobs. This is all just a little misunderstanding. We’ll get it cleared up and Officer Haught will be back in no time.”

Waverly’s head pops up and she stutters, “B-but she’s been suspended and it’s all my fault. I mean, we were never even together. Not officially.” Her rambling is increasing in quickness and Nedley is struggling to keep up. “Yeah…we kissed a few times an-and talked about going on a date, but I broke it off and-” 

“Woah! Woooooooah now. Take a deep breath, kid.” Nedley tries to soak in everything he just heard and sort through this new information. _Huh. Looks like at least part of the rumors are true, then. Gotta say, I didn’t expect that._

“Look, Waverly.” The young woman looks up at him with watery puppy dog eyes. “You've been friends with my Chrissy since ya were in diapers. Now, I don’t know what has happened between you and Officer Haught. But, that sounds to me like it’s your own private business. As long as it doesn’t affect your job, I don’t need to know about it and I’m certainly not going to fire you for it. It’s 2017, for Christ’s sakes.” The tears are spilling down the young teacher’s cheeks now and she doesn’t know whether it’s fear, relief, or a combination of multiple emotions, but she’s extremely grateful right now that Principal Nedley is a good man.

“Th-thank you, Mr. Nedley,” she sniffles, but seems to be calming down considerably.

Nedley has never been great with feelings, so he’s feeling a little out of his element. “Well, uh… I guess it’s good we had this talk. You best be getting to your classroom now. First period is starting soon.” He pats her gently on the back, then makes his way back to his office, leaving Waverly alone for a little while to pull herself together.

After a few minutes of breathing exercises, Waverly stands, closes up Nicole’s office, and is just beginning the trek back to her classroom when a thought occurs to her. _Wait. If it wasn’t about me… why the hell is Nicole suspended?_ A loud bell ringing through the hallway tells her she won’t be getting any more answers right now. She’ll just have to figure things out later.

*****

Waverly’s morning classes are miserable. The students are buzzing with talk about what they heard from so and so about Officer Haught or what they read on Twitter. It’s all the young teacher can do to hold it together. Thankfully, the kids stop their whispering when she stares them down with her patented Earp glare and none of them have been bold enough to ask her anything outright. There’s going to be a test tomorrow in her classes, so she is able to mostly keep the kids on track working on their study guides, not giving them too much time to talk. She prays it stays that way, but fears the worst is yet to come.

When the lunch bell finally rings, Waverly doesn’t even hold the door while her class exits. She stands by her desk and the moment they’re out the door, drops into her seat ungracefully. She checks her phone to see that the twenty something texts she’s now sent to Nicole are still unanswered, but they don’t even say “read”. Aside from the one last night, the texts all say “delivered”. 

“Great. Now, she won’t even read my messages.” Frustrated, she throws the phone back into her bag, grabs her lunch and leaves to go find her sister. She could certainly use some solidarity.


	21. Setting the record (not so) straight

Wynonna stares across the table at her little sister pushing food around her plate and thinks how funny it is that Nicole was sitting in the very same chair doing the very same thing not too terribly long ago. She’s been talking non-stop since Waverly sat down, trying to take her sister’s mind off of the nasty rumors flying around, but nothing seems to be working. So, she finally just dives in head first.

“Look, Waves. Kids suck sometimes, okay? I know it seems like Nicole is in hot water- heh **Haught** water!” She chuckles at her own joke, but no one else does. “No? Nothing? Okay… anyway, she’s gonna get out of it. I’m not worried. And you shouldn’t be, either.” She points at Waverly with her fork for emphasis. “I mean, really? Pffffft. The Kennedy kid is obviously just starting random shit for attention. No one actually thinks there’s anything going on between you and Nicole! You’re not even gay!”

Waverly doesn’t respond. She just sighs and continues pushing food around her plate, looking like she might burst into tears at any moment. From his place beside her, Dolls leans over toward Wynonna and raises an eyebrow, as he shakes his head. His expression says something along the lines of, “You’re an idiot. Figure it out.” But, he says nothing like that. Instead, he politely excuses himself and hopes Waverly will help clue in her completely clueless sister.  
Wynonna can see the tears swimming in her little sister’s eyes and it breaks her heart. She reaches across the table and takes the younger Earp’s hand. “Hey… really. It’s going to be okay. You’ll see.”

The next thing she knows, Waverly is clinging to her hand for dear life and sobbing into her arm on the table. Wynonna jumps up, crosses over to the other side, and sits beside her sister, pulling the younger girl into her arms and begins running her fingers through her long hair in soothing motions. 

Though it’s hard to translate between the tears and hiccups, Waverly finally spills the whole story. She tells Wynonna everything from the beginning when she first met Nicole and the officer asked her out for coffee. She doesn’t go into detail about the kissing in Nicole’s office or her classroom, but she admits to freaking out when Sarah accused her of being gay.

“Wynonna, have you ever actually read the contract we sign every year?” Waverly asks when she’s beginning to calm down and is able to make complete sentences again. 

“Errrr… no? Does anyone actually read that thing? It’s like 50 pages long!”

“Yeah” Waverly agrees. “It’s long. But, out of all of those pages and all of those words, do you know what’s missing?”

“The hours of the person’s life who got stuck writing it?” Wynonna tries for humor again.

Again, Waverly doesn’t laugh. But, she does answer her own question. “An anti-discrimination clause for LGBT employees.”

At Wynonna’s blank look, the young teacher continues. “All employee contracts since 1964 have included a clause prohibiting ‘discrimination in employment on the basis of race, color, sex, or ethnic origin’. It does **not** include sexual orientation.” Wynonna seems to be catching up, but needs that little extra push. “Wynonna, if people find out a person is gay in this backwoods hick town, they can be fired. No questions asked. There is nothing in the contract protecting them.”

“Okay… but you’re not gay.” 

“No, I’m not. But, Nicole is.” She gives that a moment to sink in before dropping the big bomb, albeit a lot quieter. “And… I’m in love with her.”

Waverly hears her sister suck in a surprised breath and looks down at her hands, fidgeting while she waits for a response. They sit in silence while Wynonna lets this new information soak in. She knew her sister was never happy with Champ, but this? This is not what she expected. Now that she thinks about it, it really does make a lot of sense, though.

The gears in her big sister’s head are turning rapidly, judging by the look on her face. So, Waverly waits. What she doesn’t expect is Wynonna to slap her hands on the table and push her chair back. “I’m going to talk to Nedley,” she announces. “If he thinks for one second I’m going to let him get away with firing either of you, he’s got another thing coming!” 

_Wait. What?_ “Wynonna, wait!” The angry woman stops in her tracks and turns back with a huff, like ‘how dare you stop my dramatic exit?’  
Waverly giggles. _Oh sure, now you laugh._ Wynonna rolls her eyes.

“I actually had a nice little heart to heart with Nedley this morning. He said what’s between Nicole and me is our own personal business and that as long as it doesn’t affect my job, he doesn’t need to know about it.” She wipes the tears on her cheeks with the palm of her hand, smiling fondly at the memory.

Wynonna walks back over and plops into her chair. “Well… alright then.”

“But… that’s not all.” Wynonna rolls her eyes. _Of course, it’s not._ She gestures with her hand for Waverly to continue.

“Well, I told you I freaked out when a student said she saw me giving ‘heart-eyes’ to Nicole. That was Monday afternoon. As you know, I called in to work Tuesday and took a half day yesterday. I uhm…” she feels the tears building again and is unable to stop them. “I told Nicole I couldn’t do this and basically asked her to leave me alone.” She barely gets the words out before she breaks down again. “And now… now she’s suspended and I’m so afraid that she hates me. She won’t answer her phone. I’ve tried texting and calling. I think… I think I really messed it up, Wy.”

Wynonna wraps her arms around her little sister again and holds her tight to her chest. Phew. No wonder Waverly hasn’t been feeling well. She’s obviously heartbroken.

“Hey…” she whispers. “Lemme ask you something.”

Waverly sniffs and says, “Yeah?”

“Is she worth it?”

Waverly sits up and looks Wynonna in the eye. “God, Wynonna. She’s worth everything.”

“Ok, then. You need to tell her that.” Waverly breaks eye contact, but Wynonna pulls her back with a hand on her chin. “Look, Baby Girl. I’ve never seen you get this worked up over someone, ever. I’d say it’s about time to go tell ole Haught-pants exactly how you feel about her. Worry about the rumors and allegations later. Go get your girl.” The bell rings signaling the end of the lunch period. “Well… maybe after school.”

Both women stand and Waverly wraps the taller woman up in a strong hug. “Thanks, sis.”

Wynonna kisses the crown of her head. “Anytime, kid.”


	22. Lost & Found

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Fun fact: I started writing this fic while out of work during Hurricane Matthew last year. Now, I'm adding a chapter on my last day off work due to Hurricane Irma. Hopefully, it won't take another year or another hurricane to finish it!

_Please answer. Please answer. Please answer._ “Hi, you’ve reached Nicole….” Waverly pounds the red ‘End call’ button on her cellphone with her finger, before ungracefully dropping the device into her passenger seat. Nicole’s voicemail message is burned into her memory at this point from hearing it so much in the last two days. Deciding to take a different approach, she peers out the windshield of her Jeep at the small house in front of her, watching for movement inside. “Damnit, Nicole. Your cruiser is sitting right here in the driveway with me. I know you’re in there and you can’t avoid me forever,” the feisty young woman mumbles.

Using her frustration at being ignored as a shield for her true feelings, the teacher quickly ascends a few concrete steps onto the porch and presses the doorbell repeatedly. She backs up a few paces and waits, not so patiently, with her arms crossed for the officer to answer her front door. When nothing happens, she tries again. Still nothing. The small woman notices a large window to her left, so she slowly approaches and peeks inside, attempting to catch a glimpse of the beautiful redhead.

“Trespassing is against the law, you know.” A scratchy voice causes Waverly’s heart to jump into her throat. Her head snaps to the side to see Nicole’s neighbor, Mrs. Gentry, watering her prized garden flowers and glaring at her in contempt. “I thought the police scared off all the reporters yesterday” the old woman surmises, shaking her head. “Why can’t you leave that poor girl alone?”

Sighing in relief, Waverly realizes the elderly woman doesn’t recognize her and has mistaken her for the press. She’s sad to hear Nicole has been dealing with unwanted visitors, but aims to quickly remedy the misunderstanding with the nice neighbor. She walks all the way to the end of the porch and steps into the light where she can been seen and heard better.

“Why, Miss Waverly Earp! Is that you?” The surprise is evident in the old woman’s voice as her demeanor shifts all at once from intimidating to familiar. “Child, I haven’t seen you in ages!”

With her typical smile and wave, the young teacher hops off the porch and approaches the hedges separating Nicole’s property from her neighbor’s. “Hi, Mrs. Gentry. Wow! Your Confederate Jasmine smells wonderful. You must be doing something right!”

“Aww stop it.” Mrs. Gentry blushes and side-steps Waverly’s compliment with a flick of her hand. “You always were such a sweet child. No need to butter me up, though, Dear. I know how you paparazzi folks work and I won’t tell you a thing.” 

Waverly smiles gently at the older woman. “Oh, no. Mrs. Gentry, you’ve got it all wrong. I’m not with the press. I’m just…” Here, she stumbles for a moment, not quite sure how to explain her relationship with Nicole. Finally, she settles on, “I’m a friend of Nicole’s from school.”

The old neighbor shifts her watering can into one hand and places the other firmly on her hip, leveling Waverly with a scrutinizing stare. Looking her up and down a few times, the woman decides she seems trustworthy and gives a slight nod. “Alright, then. You’re wasting your time ringing that bell. She’s not here.” The younger woman’s first instinct is to panic, but before the jumbled thoughts racing through her brain can take over, the neighbor lowers her voice and confides, “Officer Haught left yesterday when all those paparazzi folks started making a mess of her front lawn. Escaped out the back and took off into the night. She called me to ask if I’d water her flowers and make sure the cat gets fed, though I’m kind of surprised she didn’t take the fur ball with her, to be honest.” 

Waverly can tell the old woman is getting distracted and wants to push for information, but tries to be patient while the neighbor gets her thoughts in order again. “Anyway, she’s gone up to her cabin at the lake. Hang on a second, I’ll fetch you the address.” 

As Mrs. Gentry shuffles away, into her house, the younger woman can’t believe her luck. She feels a little bit uneasy about the neighbor just giving away Nicole’s information to random strangers claiming to be friends, but reckons that’s something she’ll have to talk to the officer about later. For now, the woman is back and handing Waverly a small slip of paper. When the paper exchanges fingers, the older woman holds on for a moment longer, forcing Waverly to meet her gaze. “Now, you listen here. I wouldn’t be giving this information to just anybody, Miss Earp. But, your aunt and uncle are fine people and I’d be willin’ to bet they raised you right. Beyond that? You claimed to be a friend and I think our dear Nicole could definitely use one of those right now.” 

Waverly is touched by the protective, almost motherly tone, and gently squeezes the woman’s hand in reassurance. “Thank you, Mrs. Gentry. I hope I can be that for her, too.” Mrs. Gentry nods and they release each other’s hands. Waverly says goodbye and proceeds quickly to her Jeep where she immediately types the address into her GPS system. Within moments, she’s backing out of the driveway and heading for the highway. “Time to go get my girl,” she says with a smirk until her insecurities rear their ugly heads, causing the small smile to falter. “Well… at least, I hope so.”

*****

Crunching gravel under tires alerts Nicole to someone’s presence long before Waverly’s Jeep pulls into view. She ignores the vehicle and its occupant to finish splitting the last few logs she’s been working on. With her back turned, she hears Waverly park and get out, quietly closing the door behind her. Nicole slams her ax into the last log, swiftly splitting it into two smaller pieces. Then, she lodges the ax into the tree stump she’s been using as a base. Waverly’s mouth goes dry watching Nicole’s strong shoulder and back muscles flex as they peek out from under a tight grey tank top. She watches the officer wipe sweat from her brow, grab an armful of the split logs and start making her way to the front door. She still hasn’t acknowledged Waverly’s presence, but the young teacher supposes she deserves the brush off. 

When Nicole reaches the front door of her cabin, she drops the firewood into a waterproof container and closes the lid, throwing her worn leather gloves on top. She places her hands on her lower back and stretches the sore muscles before looking over one strong shoulder and raising an eyebrow, finally acknowledging the other woman who is still standing slightly slack-jawed in her driveway. Nicole knows she’s got a nice body, she works hard to keep it in top shape, but she’d be lying if she said she didn’t get a little ego boost when she catches Waverly staring.

Waverly still hasn’t moved or attempted to speak, so Nicole shrugs and moves to enter the cabin. That snaps the young teacher out of her lustful daze and fuels her into motion.

“Nicole Haught, I do not appreciate being ignored!” Waverly’s voice is laced with frustration and stops Nicole in her tracks. “I’ve been calling and texting you for two days. You could have been dead for all I know. A little common courtesy goes a long way, y’know? Even a simple ‘leave me alone’ would suffice. But, no. You just pretended I don’t exist and disappeared without a thought.” She pauses and realizes how hypocritical her words are, but is too indignant to care.

Nicole turns and looks at Waverly incredulously. “Are you kidding me, Waverly? That’s rich coming from you. Or, do you not remember doing the exact same thing to me for two days earlier this week?” She’s about to walk away, but decides to throw out one more verbal dart before she goes. “And, oh by the way? Look around you. We’re in the middle of nowhere. There’s no cell service here. I haven’t even received any of your calls or texts. Unfortunately, I know you can’t say the same.” She feels her anger rising as she roughly throws open the door and stomps inside, slamming it behind her.

Waverly fumes from her place in the driveway. She considers pounding up the steps and continuing this argument, but realizes that’s probably not going to get them anywhere right now. The rational part of her brain kicks in and reminds her she came to get her girl, not fight with her. Maybe they both need some time to let the hurt feelings settle before trying to have this conversation again. _At least I know she’s alright,_ Waverly acknowledges as she turns her Jeep around and heads back the way she came with her knuckles tightly gripping the steering wheel.

From inside the cabin, Nicole watches Waverly drive away with a sinking feeling in her stomach. She’s still angry, but she questions whether or not she made the right choice to let her heart do the talking tonight, instead of her head. _She came all the way out here looking for me. That has to mean something, right?_

*****

Later that night, Nicole drives into town to the only coffee shop around and turns her cell phone back on to retrieve her messages with the shop’s free Wi-Fi. She’s a little surprised to find Waverly wasn’t lying about the number of phone calls and texts she’d sent trying to reach out, but they were all jumbled and didn’t make much sense. From what she could gather, Waverly was upset because she felt like Nicole was going to lose her job and it was somehow all her fault. She begged Nicole to call her back just to let her know she was alright.

The officer sat back and let all of that soak in. What a mess. She knew she was suspended for supposedly threatening Sarah, not for anything to do with Waverly. Yet, none of the teacher’s messages mentioned anything about the threats; she was just focused on the dating a female teacher parts. _Can you even call it dating if we’ve never been on a date?_ she wonders. And, if that was so important, shouldn’t it matter that Waverly had called it off? If today’s argument is any indication, they are definitely not dating anymore, if they ever were.


	23. Try, try

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This one's a tiny bit shorter, but you get two tonight! :)

Sitting at her desk early in the morning sipping hot coffee before school begins is usually Waverly’s favorite way to clear her head and prepare for the chaos of teaching. However, this morning she’s thinking Friday must have talked to Monday about making sure to end her week just as horribly as it began. She’s staring at her computer where the incomplete document of today’s History test is taunting her when she hears keys jingling in her classroom door.

Wynonna flings open the door and bursts into the room with her usual overbearing flare. She must not notice the distress on her little sister’s face, because she immediately starts pressing for details about Nicole.

“Previously on Waverly Earp,” Wynonna attempts to imitate a TV introduction reel. “Waverly took off into the night to ‘go get her girl’. Today, we’ll find out what exactly happened with our star-crossed lovers.” She snickers at her own joke and drops ungracefully into a student desk in front of her sister, then leans on her elbows and places her face in her upturned palms. “OK, I’m ready. Tell me everything.”

Waverly rolls her eyes at her sister’s antics and releases a deep sigh. She knew she would have to face Wynonna at some point today, but she really had not counted on it being this early. The older Earp is usually the complete opposite of a morning person. _Someone must have spiked her coffee,_ the younger woman muses. That thought is almost enough to bring a smile to her face, but not quite.

Wynonna seems to sense that Waverly isn’t in a hurry to spill her truths, so she tries a different tactic. “OK, fine. Don’t tell me all the gory details. Just riddle me this. Did you get your girl or not?” The Dean really thinks this question should be rhetorical because surely Nicole had fallen head over heels for Waverly’s confession of love and all the other sappy stuff she was spewing yesterday at lunch… Right? She leans back in the chair and kicks her boots up onto the seat beside her, crossing her arms and waiting for Waverly to say exactly that. Except, the young teacher isn’t joining in on her cordial morning mood and does not seem at all keen on answering Wynonna’s questions.

Upon closer inspection, Wynonna can see Waverly absentmindedly chewing on her lower lip as her eyes glaze over, apparently lost in a memory. The Dean’s big sister instincts kick in to overdrive and she plops her feet on the ground again, leaning forward to brace her elbows on bent knees. “Waves?” She nudges gently. “Everything all right, Babygirl?”

Waverly releases another deep sigh and shakes her head. “Wyn… I think I screwed up.” Her voice trembles over the confession and Wynonna leans closer to better hear the broken words. That’s all it takes for the story to come spilling out of Waverly, starting with her run in with Mrs. Gentry, to the screaming argument in the cabin driveway, to Nicole slamming the door and Waverly driving away.

Always one to combat emotions with humor, Wynonna tries to lighten the mood. “I mean, when I told you to go get your girl, that’s not exactly the way I pictured it going.” 

Waverly huffs and admits, “Yeah. Me, neither.” She worriedly runs her fingers through her hair, an old habit she falls back on when she’s upset.

“Well… You know what they say. ‘If at first you don’t succeed, maybe it’s not worth it.’” 

“Wynonna, that’s not how the saying goes,” Waverly shakes her head at her sister, wondering once again how she became a school administrator.

“It’s not?” 

“No. It’s ‘If at first you don’t succeed, try, try again.’” The young teacher’s face is scrunched in disbelief that Wynonna got that wrong. Gus used to preach it to the girls all the time when they were young.

Wynonna stands slowly and rubs a hand over her face, hiding a satisfied smirk. “Huh. Well, maybe there’s something to that then, eh?” She wiggles her eyebrows and winks at her sister before excusing herself from the room, leaving Waverly thinking maybe, just maybe, her sister is smarter than she lets on.

She turns back to her computer and resigns herself to the fact that the unfinished test would have to be postponed until Monday. Her intention to finish it last night blew right out of her mind after her altercation with Nicole. Oh well. The kids could take it easy today and use her class as a study period. She would finish the test while they worked and have it ready for next week. She glances at the clock and starts praying for the final bell.

In the back of her mind, a small voice whispers gently, “Try, try again…”


	24. Fireside Chats

Nicole watches the Jeep pull into view from a window upstairs in her bedroom. As Waverly slowly treks up the winding stone pathway, the officer has plenty of time to decide whether or not she wants to answer the door. She sighs deeply and runs her fingers through her hair, stopping to rub idly at the base of her neck. Curiosity wins and she carefully pads down the stairs, pulls the door toward her, and raises one red eyebrow inviting Waverly to speak first.

“Hi.” The young teacher looks adorable as always in her oversized fur coat. Her cheeks are tinged pink which Nicole guesses is less from the wind and more likely has something to do with the sheepish expression Waverly is sporting.

“Hi back.” It’s not much, but Waverly sighs in relief. At least they’re speaking this time and not hollering at each other like crazy women. Nicole shifts her weight from one foot to the other, causing the door to close slightly.

"Wait. Please don't shut me out. I know I deserve it, but..." she lets the sentence hang unfinished as she steps forward to stand closer to Nicole. The officer hasn't slammed the door in her face, so she takes that as an invitation to continue. "Can I please come inside? I promise to say what I came to say and after that, well... if you want me to leave you alone, I will." Her warm hazel eyes are pleading and Nicole wants to tell her she never wanted to be left alone in the first place, but she's still angry. It still hurts. So, she lashes out. 

"Are you sure you want to do that? Wouldn't want to start any rumors about you hangin’ around with a lowly Deputy, would you? Wouldn't want you to feel ashamed to be seen with me… again." Her voice cracks a little on that last bit as she averts her gaze away from the young teacher, recalling the painful memory from school the other day. 

Waverly is thrown completely for a loop. "Ashamed? Nicole, I’ve never been ashamed of you. I lo-” her jaw clicks shut audibly as she cuts herself off and their eyes meet in shocked silence while the weight of what she almost said echoes around them. Nicole’s eyebrows shoot into her hairline in surprise. Softly, Waverly tries again. “What are you even talking about right now?” This time her words are a bit less defensive and feel a lot more like genuine concern.

Nicole doesn't answer, still dealing with the ache in her chest and the shock of what she thinks Waverly was going to say. She chastises herself for beginning to hope maybe she’s got it all wrong. She worries at her bottom lip with her teeth before making a decision to at least hear Waverly out. She opens the door and allows the younger woman to come inside, then leads her to an overstuffed couch facing a blazing fire. Waverly sits on one end of the sofa, while Nicole sits on the other end as far away as possible, making sure no part of her is touching the smaller woman. She has a hard enough time thinking clearly when Waverly is in the room, much less if she can feel her warm, soft skin. She turns her attention to the dancing flames and out of her peripheral, sees Waverly do the same thing.

_There's something about the way flames cast light and shadow throughout a room that immediately makes you feel comfortable,_ Waverly thinks. She takes a moment to gather her thoughts, staring into the firelight, basking in its warmth. She wants to reach for Nicole who seems so far away. She wants to pull the beautiful redhead into her arms and bury her face in her neck, nuzzle into her and allow the older woman to make her feel safe again. But, she knows she can't do that. There is a wall of tension clearly built between them and the look on Nicole's face tells her it won't be easy to tear down. 

"I'm sorry," she begins sincerely. "And I know that isn't nearly enough, but there are simply no words in any of the many languages I've studied that express how important you are to me and how much I know I royally messed up. I was scared, Nicole. Truth be told, I still am. This is uncharted territory. It's new for me and as if that's not enough, there's the added pressure from our jobs, the students, and the close-minded assholes in town to deal with, as well." She lets that sentence hang for a moment as she gets lost in the memory of Sarah's taunting words. 

Nicole takes the opportunity to jump in. "Wave, I get all of that, but relationships are hard. They're messy and unpredictable. Some days are tough, while others are remarkably easy. It's a constant roller coaster of emotions. And being with another woman? Twice as hard, exponentially more unpredictable and unexplainably more emotional. I need to know you can handle all of that. You said you wanted this, so you can't blow me off at the first sign of trouble. There's no burying your head in the sand and hoping all of our problems will just go away. I need to know you're going to hold my hand while we battle through whatever it is we're facing, together. Hell, I still don't even know what spooked you. One minute everything was great and the next...” She shakes her head and Waverly’s heart breaks at the sadness she sees written across Nicole’s face. “You can't just leave a girl hanging like that, Waverly. My heart can't take it." The last part is whispered so quietly, the smaller woman feels like she may have imagined it. 

Waverly takes a chance and scoots closer to Nicole, slowly reaching for the other woman’s fingers. Nicole has plenty of time to pull away from the touch, but decides to allow it for now. She immediately feels better just holding the younger woman’s hand, a fact that should probably scare her, but doesn’t. She’s already accepted just how much Waverly means to her and can fully admit there’s no turning back now.

“I’m sorry,” Waverly repeats. “I never meant to hurt you.” The teacher feels like her heart is breaking all over again. She would never hurt Nicole on purpose. Why did this have to be so difficult? She wipes a stray tear from her cheek and stares dejectedly at the floor.

Nicole sighs again. “I believe you.”

Waverly glances up with a surprised sniffle. “You do?”

Nicole smiles wryly. “Yeah, Waves. Of course I do. I won’t sit here and tell you it’s okay… but I really do care about you and I know you would never intentionally hurt anyone, ever.”

Waverly graces her with a watery smile and Nicole has to fight the urge to lean in and kiss tear-stained lips. _No. Focus. There’s still a lot to be said here._

“So. Want to tell me what really happened the other day?” Nicole urges softly. Waverly’s back goes ramrod straight as she bristles at the reminder, but she knows she owes Nicole more than an apology here.

“Monday, after you left, a student came to see me…” Nicole listens quietly while Waverly describes the interaction with Sarah in her classroom. By the time she finishes her story, the officer is pacing the hardwood in front of the fire, barely containing her anger. Waverly cringes and seems to curl in on herself, thinking the anger is directed at her.

Lost in her own thoughts, it takes Nicole a moment to realize Waverly has stopped speaking and looks like she might burst into tears again. She quickly side-steps the coffee table and positions herself next to the younger woman, wrapping her long arms around the small frame. Without even thinking about it, she kisses the side of Waverly’s head and says, “Oh, honey. I’m not angry with you.” 

Waverly’s heart skips a beat at the endearment, but looks at Nicole like she’s crazy. “Okay, wait. I _am_ angry with you, but not about what you just said.” She sits back, creating just a small amount of space between them. “I’m angry that you didn’t talk to me sooner and that you blew me off. But, in this moment, I’m angry that you let some punk kid make you feel bad about yourself. Furthermore, I’m angry at that snotty little brat for forcing a wedge into something that I thought was going really well.”

Nicole uses one finger to lift Waverly’s chin, forcing their eyes to connect. “When you pushed me away, I thought you were ashamed of me because I’m not a man or because I’m a cop. I’ve always been proud of who I am and I felt like you weren’t. It hurt more than I’d like to admit.” She breaks the eye contact momentarily and says, “Waves, I’ve never fallen this hard or fast for anyone before. The ball is in your court. You have the control here and that terrifies me.”

Waverly, overwhelmed with emotion, surges forward and plants a warm kiss on Nicole’s lips, the force of the movement causing them both to fall backwards onto the cushions. She pulls back a tiny bit and whispers, “Nic, I know there’s so much left to say, but-” This time Nicole reaches forward and grabs Waverly’s bottom lip with her teeth, making the younger woman groan. A slight tug has Waverly gasping and reconnecting their lips again. This time, she runs her tongue along Nicole’s upper lip, silently encouraging her mouth to open. Within seconds, they’re both breathing heavily, grasping and pulling at each other.

“Later,” Nicole gasps between kisses. “We’ll talk more later.”

Waverly smiles into Nicole’s mouth, happy they finally seem to be agreeing on something.


	25. I'm really sorry!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I promised a long time ago that I would finish this fic... and someday I will. But, life apparently has other ideas for me right now and I just don't have the time. If you're anything like me, you want to know how this story ends. So, I'm giving you all of my notes and half-finished dialogue. It's not much, but at least now you'll know what happens. I'm really sorry I am leaving everyone hanging. :( I hope this is a good enough consolation.

Weekend at the cabin:  
~Waverly is cooking something on the stove, the radio is playing softly in the background and she is singing softly, then wraps arms around from behind and starts kissing neck, exposed shoulder. Wave teases about smooth moves. Nic flicks open the button on her high-waisted jean shorts with one hand and whispers “You don’t know anything about my moves…. yet” After dinner, Nicole suggests they play a game and asks Waverly how she feels about dominoes- soul mate moment. Waves tells Nic about being the keeper of the bones and they bond over shared childhood memories. Waverly should start to leave, but their goodnight kiss should turn into something more and they hook up for the first time. Afterglow or morning discussion… Nic asks Waverly if she can handle being with her if this is the kind of crap they may face in life. Good time to clear up the whole I’m not ashamed of you thing. Waverly decides it could happen to anyone and has nothing to do with their relationship or the fact that they’re both women. It’s just a kid being an asshole, etc. Then, she tells Nic she loves her.

 

Monday at school:  
*Waverly goes back to school Monday, but Nicole still does not. Nate and little sister show up at Waverly’s door before school- don’t give Sarah time to delete the evidence.

*Little sis spills the beans about how she was changing in the bathroom stall of the locker room before school (cause she’s gay which is why Brody was harassing her) and overhears Sarah bragging to her friends about what she did. Plays real audio for them vs fake audio and how there’s a School Board meeting the next night where she’s going to put on the waterworks for everyone to get Nicole fired. Nate needs to come forward and volunteer to help Nicole to prove he’s trying to become the man she believes he can be.

*Waverly talks to Wynonna and Dolls and makes a plan. Takes phone during test.  
~Waves needs the satisfaction of taking Sarah’s phone away in class, accusing her of being on it during a test. Dolls confiscates phone. Whispers: “Sucks to be accused of something you didn’t do, doesn’t it?” Sarah’s face drains of color as she realizes that Waverly knows the truth.

*School Board Meeting  
~Sarah plays innocent victim with angry dad.  
~Students come forward on Nicole’s behalf, including Nate. Board says it’s still not enough when they have the audio evidence of misconduct.  
~Dolls comes forward and requests the Board listen to another recording (the real one).  
~Superintendent calls Nic forward and releases her from all charges. Then says, “I heard what you said about gay people, Officer, and I have to tell you… I agree, completely. Even if you are a lesbian, not saying you are, that does not make you dangerous to our youth. Who you choose to spend your time with outside of school is none of my concern or anyone else’s, for that matter. What matters is that you care about your students and they obviously care just as much about you, as witnessed here this evening. I can’t think of a finer person to protect and serve for the young adults of Purgatory. This meeting is adjourned.  
~Outside, Nicole is overwhelmed as she hugs all of the kids, Dolls and Wynonna. When she gets to Waverly, the kids start chanting “Kiss kiss kiss kiss”. She starts to say they’re just friends, when Waverly places a gentle hand on her arm, then pulls her down by her neck and stands on her tiptoes to kiss her which Nic turns into dipping her backwards in a big, cheesy display.  
~Afterward, Sarah’s dad apologizes to Nicole and says he knows there will be repercussions for his daughter which he will fully support.

 

Resolution:  
Nate and lil sis go talk to Wynonna and Dolls. Epilogue can be after the School Board hearing where Sarah is proven guilty, Haught is innocent, and they walk into the sunlight holding hands with heads held high.

Ending:  
Waves says something about trying to protect them both and Nicole can use the line about being a cop and going toward the danger. 

Disgusting!  
Nicole bristles and begins to retort, but is stopped by a small hand on her chest. She looks down into soft brown eyes that seem to say 'I got this'. In an instant, Waverly is spitting fire. "You know what's disgusting? The fact that it's 2017 and you're still hung up on two people of the same gender showing affection. It's disgusting that you're filling this world with more hate when we clearly have enough already. And what's worse is that you're passing that hate along to your kid," she gestures to Sarah who is standing beside her father with her face twisted into a frown like she swallowed a lemon. "Move along, Mr. Kennedy. Because this?" Waverly dismisses the man and his rotten child as she returns her gaze to Nicole and finishes as if she's only speaking to her. "This is beautiful."

Nicole swoops in and captures Waverly's lips again in a sweet, tender kiss. The crowd around them cheers again and forces the Kennedy's out of their little circle. They march away with a huff and two bad attitudes. Nicole is the first to pull back. Her dimples are on full display as she looks deep into the eyes of the woman she loves. "Couldn't have said it better myself."

Another voice breaks through the crowd. "Hands off my sister, Haught-stuff!" The two break apart with twin eye rolls and wait for Wynonna to finish approaching. She glances at her sister with a mischievous twinkle in her eye. "It's my turn," she states playfully, then wraps her long arms around Nicole in a tight hug. "Never doubted you for a second, Haughty," she whispers so only the officer can hear her. They break the hug and Wynonna winks at Waverly. "Finally picked a smart one."

"Yep. Super smart." She looks up at Nicole with an expression of pure adoration. 

"Okay eww. That's enough of that." Then, to the crowd in a loud voice, "Show's over, people. Let's go. Get home and do some homework or something."

Waverly reaches over and intertwines her fingers with Nicole's and tugs lightly. "Yeah. Let's go home." The officer gives their hands a gentle squeeze and can't help thinking _I **am** home._

 

The End. *shrugs*

**Author's Note:**

> Come talk to me on Tumblr:   
> sapphicnerd1


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